


House & Camp

by OfficialWeedTesterguy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2020-11-28 01:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20958539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfficialWeedTesterguy/pseuds/OfficialWeedTesterguy
Summary: After the Twenty-Fist Nome and Camp Half-Blood form an alliance, Jack Samson, current Eye of Isis, goes to stay at Camp Half-Blood for a summer. What could go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

I sat in the back of the truck as it jolted, slightly knocking around the boxes labeled Delphi Strawberry Service. I’d tasted some of them, earlier. Not bad.

I grasped my suitcase again, making sure its contents were safe and secure. My khopesh and staff were in there, as well as various magician garbs and robes. But for now, I was wearing the crisp and warm orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. I would be representing the house of Life’s Brooklyn House at Camp Half-Blood for several months, or longer if I insisted. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited. Very. They had part of a cabin set up for me, apparently, and I’d be meeting a shitton of campers. I would be a symbol of the Greeks’ and Egyptians’ relatively new alliance.

Which I helped instill, by the way.

I won’t get into the main details, but in short, a crashed pegasus, trapping a wannabe god inside of a snow globe, and a field trip gone horribly wrong led both sides to discover each others’ existence. Thank the gods it hadn’t ended in conflict. The thought alone of bringing both pantheons to bear was horrifying enough.

Best to think about what didn’t happen, than what has happened, then.

My train of thought was broken as the truck shuddered to a halt. With a flick of my wrist, a gust of wind opened the back shutter, a simple demonstration of my elemental magic.

These guys are gonna have no idea what hit them, I think as their man Argus helps me get my luggage out. Still can’t get over the fact that the guy has a hundred eyes. I mean...so many puns, so little time. I’m sure he has heard them all by now, wouldn’t surprise me.

“Um ...thanks, man.” I nod. He shrugs, grunting.

“So...your mom’s a god, right? Here, right?”

He nods again. Shame he doesn’t talk much. I suppose it’s because of the eye on his tongue. Must make it a bitch to speak.

I sigh. “I’m not entirely sure if I should be asking this, but since you mom’s a goddess and all, how are they feeling about this whole teaming up with us?”

He shrugs. Okay, well all right then.

I’d only been to this camp a few times, and that was under heavy supervision from those war-hungry Ares goons. This time, though, I’d be able to see a lot more. Argus pointed towards a path leading away from the truck.

“Is that how I meet Chiron?” He nods. As I turn around to go some of his eyes start to blink. I notice it only for a quick second, but it’s there, in Morse Code.

Good luck.

I never expected how much I would come to remember that term.

After following the path through some trees, I came upon the cabins.

And by Ra, was it pretty.

It was apparently dinner-time, and the sky became darker, leaning on the edge of night. The various cabins were beautiful in their own right; I could see now why the campers loved these so much; each one represents one’s parent god or goddess beautifully. Athena’s looked quite similar to a library; what I assumed was Aphrodite looked like a dollhouse on steroids, and the...Hades cabin looked like a gods-damned mausoleum.

Okay Jack, you can do this. You helped kill Apophis, you’ve ended several wars, and you’re currently hosting a goddess. You can try to fit in.

“Really, Isis?” I say.

“Who are you talking to?”

I turned around to find a boy with gleaming golden hair and blueish-greenish eyes. He’s a little bit shorter than me, with a huge smile on his face.

“Oh, I uh, I….no one!” I laugh akwardly. “Who are you? Sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“That’s alright. I’m Will Solace, counselor of Apollo cabin. Are you new?”

“Apollo? That’s the guy with the arrows, right?”

“And the sun.” He corrected me.

“Ah! Like Ra. I see.”

His face contorted into a confused expression. “Who?”

I chuckle for a moment. “Oh, I’m sorry!” I extend a hand. “I’m Jack Samson, elemental magician that somewhat drabbles in combat.”

“Magician? ….Oh, you’re that visiting Egyptian guy who’s supposed to come!”

I blush. Looks like word’s gotten around about me. “Yes, although I’m more American than that, but yes, I have Pharoah blood in my veins. Magic and all.”

“Magic? Like Hecate?”

“Well...yes, but the House of Life has much more experience with such things.”

“Well Jack, it was nice to meet you, man. Tell you what-I’ll take you to Chiron, and you tell me about this ‘magic’ stuff.”

“Deal.”

I tried to keep a low profile as the Apollo kid toured me through the camp, towards the Big House, basically the meeting place. The whole place seemed...empty.

“Where is everyone?”

“Oh, they’re back from daily classes. You came in right during the pre-dinner break. I heard tonight they were gonna have an announcement about you.”

“I see.”

“So you really live in a mansion?”

I had told Will quite a bit of what the living was like back at Brooklyn House. You should’ve seen his face when I told him about living in a giant mansion filled with magicians and the occasional god or goddess, with a personal room for everyone. Did I mention the magical crocodile? I think I mentioned the magic crocodile.

I don’t blame him for being jealous. I mean, living in a cabin is cool and all, but living and sleeping with so many in such an enclosed space? Blargh.

“Well, here we are!” Will raps on the door of the ‘Big House’. It honestly looks kind of imposing, especially since it’s so much larger than the cabins, and the way it’s positioned right down the middle of the cabins. Damn. The door opens, and the ‘wily old centaur’ steps out. Chiron. I know him very well from the meetings between our side and his before the alliance was still form.

“Chiron.” Will says. “This is the Egyptain guy. Looks like he came a little bit early.”

“Your driver is very good at his job.” I interject. “Having a hundred eyes can be...valuable.”

He looks me up and down, as if searching for something. “Thank you Will, you may go now. You cabin gets out five minutes early for your work.”

He beams, and runs off. “See ya.”

“Mr. Samson. Please follow me.”

I follow him through the house, making a note of all the memorabilia he has. ‘Party Ponies’. I wonder what that is. He beckons me to take a seat at a pool table. I immediately recognize it, as Percy described it as where the ‘war council’ took place. I sit, and he simply stand at the opposite edge of the table.

“I must say, Mr. Samson, it is a great weight off my back that both of our sides can finally become friends.”

“You guys could have asked earlier, y’know. We’re not so bad. I believe that both of us have something to offer one another.”

“And what would that be?” He responds with ...intrigue.

“Knowledge. We’ve been around for a thousand years longer than you guys. The shit we know on the outside world and magic could help you in the next war.”

“Next war?”

“Chiron. Look….we both know there’s more out there than Apophis or Kronos. There are...others, you must understand.”

“I do. Which is why I do not tell the campers of them.”

I smile. “You’re a good...man...horse? I’m sorry, what exactly do I call you?”

“Man is fine.”

“Very well. So...what exactly will I be doing? A little clarification, just to be sure.”

“You will be staying at our camp for a full summer, or longer if you wish. While here, you will be expected to follow our rules, just like any other campers. You’ll participate in all of our activities, rituals, etc.. You will also interact with all campers to learn more about their specific skills and creeds. Is that clear?”

“Crystal, sir.” I do a mock salute. “And where will I be staying?”

He smirked. “That will be a surprise. Don’t worry about it. Now go out there, and have some fun. I’ll have a harpy handle your things.”

I shake his hand, and walk out. Camp Half-Blood, here I come!


	2. Chapter 2

I got in line for dinner, which unfortunately seemed pretty damn long. The guy in front of me seemed quite intimidating. Tall, muscular, blonde hair, and an inch or two taller than me. Probably a son of...Ares, is it? I made sure to read up on Greek mythology, with Annabeth’s help before I came here. It’s seemed to work out so far.

He turned around. “Hey, you new here?”

So he doesn’t know. Ah.

“Yes, actually. I’m Jack Samson, pleasure to meet you.” I reach out a hand, which he takes. 

“You been claimed yet?”

“No actually, I’m not a demigod by any means.”

He raises an eyebrow, face scrunching up. “So...who are you?”

“Egyptian elemental and combat magician. Bit of both, actually.”

“Really? Egyptian….oh, that’s right! I recognize you from the alliance thing! Protectorate, right?”

I gleam with pride. “Yes, it was my idea.”

He chuckles. “It’s funny how both sides were so close to each other this whole time, eh?”

“Believe me...uh, what’s your name?”

“Butch Walker, son of Iris.”

“The rainbow goddess?”

He sighs. “Yes. And I’ve heard them all, believe me.”

I chuckle. “Believe me, I won’t say anything. So...what exactly can you do?”

“Summon rainbows, talk to pegasi-”

“No fuckin’ way. You can talk to Pegasi?”  
He nods. “Impressed?” 

“Uh, yeah? Talking to animals ...not sure if that’s something we can do.”

“So, what exactly does it mean, being a magician and all?”

“Well, it’s a long story-”

“Short version, please.”

“Well, Butch, basically I can control elements, and if I want to, can turn into a kite and summon a giant magical chicken that I can kill people with.”

The look on his face made my day...nah, scratch that. The whole gods-damned month.

So dinner had gone well. Apparently, they had some rule that said that you couldn’t sit at a table whose god/goddess wasn’ yours. Weird. So, I had to sit along, chowing down on a meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Your mouth watering? Mine was, too. Trust me. 

As per the strange tradition of throwing some of your food into the fire (how wasteful!), I obliged. Next up was the campfire. Time to have some fun. 

I took a front-row seat in the small amphitheater, while some campers were walking around in a circle, singing a song about something something Apollo something something music. 

“Good evening campers, and may I be the first to welcome you all to another wonderful summer at Camp Half-Blood!” The crowd of demigods rose up in cheers. “Now, before we get onto the announcements, we have...a very special guest who will be staying with us this summer!”

My cue. I stood up proudly, and walked next to the centaur, the fire keeping me warm.

“As you all may know, several months ago, we became aware of the Egyptain gods and their pantheon. We have signed into an alliance with them, and have and will expect to keep excellent relations with for the years to come. To better relations with both sides, they have sent one of their best to live us for some time!” He cocked his head towards me. “Please introduce yourself.”

I take a bow. “Hello, you guys! My name is Jack Samson, elementalist combat magician from Brooklyn House, of the Twenty-First Nome of the glorious House of Life. I was one of the first to discover that we were not alone in the world of gods. I was one of the honored few who wrote the pact that brought our two sides together. You’ve probably seen the emessarial building being built by your cabins.”

“Anyway, I have decided to stay at your camp for the summer, experiencing how you guys...live, learn, fight..all of that stuff. So...umm ...that's about it all.”

I cough. “Questions, any?”

Pretty much everyone raised their hands, whether it be demigods, satyrs, or nymphs floating around. Weird.

I chuckle. “Well, I’d be here all night to answer y’all’s questions, so I’ll only take a few. Hmmm. How about...you?”

I point to a muscled blonde girl, with a smirk on face. “Show us your ‘magic’. I wanna see how this goes against Hecate.”

“Clarisse…” Chiron interjects. I hold up a hand. 

“No, excellent question! Alright, I won’t be fighting anyone today, so no combat avatar, or giant battle chicken, as some would call it. So...elemental magic!”

Chiron gets the hint, going to stand by the crowd. 

“Fire.” I announce. I concentrate, and with a flick of my hand, the vampire erupts, its flame turning into a miniature whirlwind, twisting around me. With a flick of my wrist, fire erupts from my hands, two plumes shooting into the air before it stops on my command, with a single thought. 

Cheers erupt from the crowd, but I’m not done just yet. 

“Earth.” Several rocks on the ground to fly to my position, forming a ring that dances around me. With a clench of the fist soil breaks from the ground individual pieces of dirt form a shield before me, after which they float back to the ground.

More oohs and ahhs. 

“Water.” I clap my hands, and water flies out of some demigods’ cup. I hold up a hand, pausing it as it floats in front of me in a blob-like form, waiting for my command. I turn it into a pillar of water, sending it flying over the audiences’ heads. If I was by a river, I could do so much more. But I’m getting tired. 

Ad the audience gapes. I unveil my last trick. 

“Air.”

I fly up several feet into the air, levitating before the crowd. As they react with generic reactions like “woah” “what?” and “holy shit!”, I clap my hands, a small gust of wind giving the audience a shock. I lazily float for a few more seconds, before landing safely on the ground. 

The audience starts clapping and screaming praise, as I take another bow humbly, as any magician should. 

“Thank you all.” I return to my seat, panting and sweating like a horse. A satyr hands me a water bottle, which I gulp ravenously. 

Chiron walks back to the front, as impressed as the crowd is. “Well...I can say that that was a way to start the summer off, no?”

More cheers. 

After the meeting is over, I trudge back to my appointed cabin-Artemis’. She is the goddess of the moon and hunt...or something. I take my stuff inside, and collapse on the bed, falling asleep.

My ba, however, had other ideas. 

“What are you doing in my cabin?” 

A feminine voice woke me from my sleep. I was in the clothes I’d fallen asleep on, in a garden surrounded by trees. In front of me, kneeling in front of me, was a woman. She had a silvery glow; an aura if you will. She had a bow and set of arrows on her back, and she was wearing a silver cloak that slowly rippled. She was in a pair of sandals, with silvery hair flowing behind her. 

“Well?” The woman didn’t sound angry, mind you-she was curious. SHe raised an eyebrow, smiling as if she was talking to a small child.

“I’m sorry...your cabin?”

She chuckled. “I’m Artemis, goddess of the hunt and of the moon. I don’t recall you being a Hunter.”

“Hunter...of Artemis? You mean those chicks with the bows?”

She sighed. “It’s more complicated than that, but yes. You are an Egyptian magician, are you not?”

I suddenly remembered the rule. “Oh fuck ma’am, I’m sorry. I can just pack up and…”

She waved a hand. “No, no. You are fine. I was messing with you. I was simply asking you. I have not met one of you. Ever.”

“You’ve never met an Egyptian? No offense, but we literally live all over the world. And one of our most major hideouts is literally miles from this Camp.”

“I know. But we preferred to stay away from the other pantheons. Rules this, rules that, I suppose.” She waved a hand. “But, you are here, and if I remember right, you were the one who actually proposed the alliance between the Camp and your House, correct?”

“Yes. The Protectorate. My little name for it, but...well, yes.”

“Um...what do the other gods think of it?” I never really knew any of the gods of the Greek pantheon. I’d briefly met Poseidon once or twice, he seemed kind of cool. Dionyisus seemed at most indifferent to me and the House, and...well, that’s pretty much it. 

She shook her head. “It's ...complicated. Myself, I never saw a reason to be concerned. Your House is quite competent, and good at what they do. You have been around longer than we have, something the rest of us refuse to admit. Ares wants to ‘kick their asses back to their gods-damned house’, hmmph. Typical. Hera complained as always, Athena...she’s been unusually quiet about it, actually.”

“Zeus...he is conflicted. He, on the one hand, is worried about the possible mixing of Greek and Egyptian magic. On the other...he does see the advantages of the two sides working together. He admires you House’s knowledge and experience. The snake thing ...”

“Apophis.” I say the name with disgust. That sonuvabitch caused us a lot of pain.

“Yes...the knowledge that such things are out there….” She shivered. “And I thought Kronos and Gaia were bad enough.” 

“So...no offense, but why did you bring me here?”

“I suppose I wished to get to know you. Few members of the pantheon have met one of your kind. I simply wish to know more.”

So she wanted to ask questions. Well, I had answers. 

“So, um, what else did you want to know?”

“Well, I could ask you more, but I wouldn’t want you to miss your wake-up call.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Wake-up call?”

The vision began to fade. She winked. “Oh, and by the way, enjoy the cabin.”

“Wait! I-”

I suddenly shot awake, looking around the cabin. Save me, it was empty. My things were lying next to me in a pile. Fuck, gotta get that stuff sorted out. Don’t they have an inspection around here or something? 

I grab some clothes, and walk to the back, where there’s a bathroom and shower. Before entering, I pause to look at the altar to Artemis; a woman with a bow surrounded by wolves and birds of prey, with two glowing torches around it. I nod at it.

“Thanks. And...I hope you don’t mind.”

I wash myself, noting that for a cabin bathroom, it’s pretty damn clean. As I walk out in my orange T-shirt a bell sounds.

“Must be that wake-up call Artemis mentioned. Huh.”

I grab the camp-issued knapsack, putting in my khopesh and wand. My staff disguises itself as a credit card, which I slip into my pocket. 

Go time.


	3. Chapter 3

I adjust my glasses, touch my pendant, and walk out into the morning sunlight. Thanks, Ra. Always a pleasure. All around the campers begin to funnel out. I get a good look at the cabins, now that there’s actually light out now.

My own is a moonlight silver, with two floors and although quaint, kinda cute. On its outside walls, paintings and etchings of various wild animals coat it. Gotta hand it to whoever built this. They have a fine hand. Wonder what they’d think of the various Nomes. Perhaps I won’t miss Brooklyn House so much. 

My stomach suddenly growls. Alright, jeez dude. Way to interrupt my monologue. Ah well. A line is forming, like last night, for breakfast. I get in line, and wait patiently. 

“That was pretty sweet what you did last night.”

I turn around. Hey, it’s that same girl last night who asked me to demonstrate my powers. What was her name. 

“Oh, thanks. It was nothing, really. A bit of magic. Thanks the gods, right?” I nervously chuckle. She is tall. And I mean she-hulk tall. 

“You mean your gods, right?”

“Yes, not Greek. Yours. Sorry, who exactly are you?”

The group of campers behind her chuckled. They looked like the stereotypical playground bullies you’d see in a kids film.

“I’m Clarisse La Rue, head of the Ares Cabin, magician. Trust me, we’re all gonna become acquainted real soon. Capture the flag is tonight. So let’s see how your magic holds up against Ares!” 

“Ares!” The group of campers behind her chant some Chaos ritual if it was sung by a bunch of wrestlers. 

“Ok. So you’re those kind of people.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You know, the ones with the asshole dad who gives you tough love. You were left with your mothers early, so you spend basically your entire lives looking for a father figure. You put on the whole ‘tough guy’ facade, when really all you guys are is a bunch of pricks with god complexes and intimidating looks to make up for it.”

I paused for dramatic effect. 

“How right am I?” 

Clarisse gritted her teeth and balled her fists. “Oh it’s on, fucker.” She whispered through her gritted teeth. “It’s Fucking. On.” 

I step up and let the harpies put food on my plate. “Glad we could meet, fellas!” I wave, and walk away.

“This isn’t over, peasant!”

I sit at the empty table with a satisfied smirk on my face. That went well. 

Hmmm. Eggs and toast, with bacon. Decent, but not bad. I could summon some good stuff from the Du’at, but I don’t want to make these kids jealous yet. 

“Hey man!”

I turned around. Percy fucking Jackson. Finally, a familiar face. He plops himself right across from me. 

“Hey, sorry I couldn’t talk last night. Had things to do. That show man, damn!” 

“Uh, thanks. Hey, this isn’t your table.”

He winks. “True, but it’s not really anyone’s. Look at the markings.”

I looked at the tablecloth, and immediately noticed something I hadn’t last night. The tablecloth was a linen white, with various Egyptian markings. I must admit, the craftsmanship is good. I chuckle, noticing that one line of markings spells a...vile word in ancient Egyptian. Whoever designed this obviously did not know much about the language. 

“Hephaestus’ cabin made it. You like it?” 

“The craftsmanship isn’t bad. Though I would recommend that whoever made this take a course in ancient Egyptian.”

He looked at me with a confused face. “Um...why?” 

I smile, whispering into his ear what is written. We both laugh. 

“You’re joking, right?”

I shake my head. “No. Anyway...shouldn't you be at the Poseidon table?”

“Technically. This table is in relation to your pantheon. Not ours. Which means that it’s neutral ground. Anyone can sit here. From any cabin ...or House, I suppose.”

“Well, that’s neat.”

“Well, now you know. I mean...well. How are you enjoying the camp so far?”

“I nearly got into a fight with the Ares head. Ra, she’s a bitch.”

“You mean Clarisse? Fuck.”

“Oh, it wasn’t much, I gave her a slight dressing-down about her attitude. She wants to settle our little disagreement in capture the flag tonight.”

“Capture the flag is tonight?” He sounded surprised. “I thought...never mind. Anyway, I’ll be surprised if they let you participate. Whichever team has you is definitely going to have a clear advantage.”

I laugh. “I’d like to see how the Hecate kids perform against me. Hey, don’t those Hunters come sometimes for a game or something like that?”

He blushes. “Yes. They...outperform us every time we do Capture the Flag. They are on a 56 win streak.”

I attempt to hold back my chuckle. “Fifty-six? Really?”

“Yeah. They’re good at combat. Like, really good.” 

This sounds like a job for me. “Well.” I say. “If they come next time, I’d like to see how they hold up to some Egyptian magic.” 

“I imagine Chiron would be interested in seeing that.” 

“Annabeth! Hey!” Looks like Percy’s girlfriend is interested, too. And why not? We did defeat Setne together, and they did introduce me to the Camp in the first place. She places herself next to Percy, along with who I assume to be several Athena campers.

“Everyone, this is Jack. The magician I was telling you guys about.” 

“Annabeth. Hey, This is your cabin, right?”

“I see you’ve done your research. Everyone, introduce yourselves.”

Her fellow...half-brothers and sisters, I guess, introduce themselves. Malcom. Silva. Emily. Fred. Steven. Emma. seem pretty nice. They’re around the ages of many of the trainees at Brooklyn House, as well as various other Nomes I’ve visited. Not so different, it would seem. 

Percy whispers something to Annabeth, who laughs. At this point the entire Athena cabin is sitting at the table, talking. She speaks up.

“Okay, Athena Cabin! As you all know, this is Jack, the magician. We’ve been assigned first cabin to show him around. He tells us about him, and we tell him about us. Vice versa. Now...who wants to start?”

Percy takes this cue to leave. He waves goodbye, and walks off. I finish my food, scrape some food into the fires, and my day begins.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“My mother...our mother, Athena is the goddess of strategy and wisdom. You technically could consider her a goddess of war, but that’s more of an Ares thing.”   
I nod, taking it all in. I’m in the Athena cabin right now, learning about their mom, who seems pretty cool. Besides Artemis, and Dionysus briefly, I have no experience at all with the Greek pantheon. I have some gripes about them, but I keep it under wraps for the moment. The cabin really fits the patron god, especially the whole wisdom thing. 

These guys would love the library in House Brooklyn. Cloe, matter of fact, would enjoy it here. I must admit, I wasn’t that big of a fan when Carter proposed bringing in the ankle-biters. I’d lived in the House before Carter and Sadie came. And while they’re some of my best friends and helluva magicians, bringing in kids like Shelby and Felix was...irritating.

Cleo, Julian, Alyssa Sean were mature for their age, and were good at what they did. Zia and Walt were pretty damn good too. I never did like kids-my autism did not mix well with screaming kids. They were my trainees, but sometimes...nah, most of the time I just can’t deal with them. Carter and Sadie do excellent jobs. 

Although they performed quite well against Apophis and other threats, I still worry about them. My life was complete shit; I don’t want them to have the same experience. I lived on the gods-damned streets of New York for years until Amos found me. I’m resilient, I suppose. Now I have a goddess in my head. It’s not so bad.

“...and that over there is Daedelus’ projects and schematics, which I took from the Labyrinth myself.”

Crap. Zoned out.

“Uhhh, the Labyrinth? With the Minotuar and all that?”

“In a way. During the Battle of Manhattan, I used it to control its statues, helping us greatly in the battle.”

“Like a shabti.” I mutter. Damn. These Greeks really knew their shit. So that was the explanation for all those oddly placed statues after that weird storm a while back. Huh. Wait. The storm...the one that ravaged the continental United States a while back? Did they have something to do with that, too? 

“Wow.” I say. “I’m quite impressed. A shame this place isn’t a library. Like the one we have at Brooklyn House. You guys would love it there.”

“Library?” The kid named Malcolm asks. 

“Oh yes. At many Nomes, there is a library of records. They go back thousands of years, covering many, many events, battles, and what have you.”

The way the Athena kids looked at me was like I’d just offered each and everyone there a million dollars. 

“What exactly is in this library? Artifacts?” A girl with green eyes asks.

“Documents?”

“Weapons?”

“Books that-”

“Hey, hey, alright! By Ra, calm down!” I hold up my hands. “It might not happen, but if you want, I can check with Amos Kane, out Chief Lector. If, if me says yes...maybe some of you could visit it, no? I’m sure Cleo would love some visitors, no?”   
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So the visit went well, I suppose. If you call a bunch of admittedly cool nerds nerdgasming about Egyptian stuff, I suppose. I leave with Annabeth to go to my next lesson. 

"So what's next?" I asked.

"Monster fighting."

I raise an eyebrow. "Monster fighting? Really?"

She nods. "I assume you've done it before?"

"In a way. But throw in some gods and....other things. You got a weapon?"

She grins, pulling out a blade. What did Percy call it again? Cursed?

"A dagger. Not bad." I click my tongue, and my credit card flies to my hand. 

"You're going to kill monsters with insurmountable debt?" Annabeth asks. I laugh.

"Close enough." The card transforms into my staff, which I use for close combat and elemental summoning. The khopesh can come out later.

Let's dance.


	4. Chapter 4

We arrive at what I assume to be the classroom for this ‘monster fighting class’.

But calling it a classroom would be doing it too much credit. It’s more of an arena, honestly. It’s got a wall circling around it, with two doors. Standing by said entrance are some young-looking campers; middle school age, I’d assume, with several older kids with various weapons.

“So where are the monsters?” I ask.

“Oh, there aren’t actually any.” Annabeth says. “Hecate Cabin creates illusions of them with magic. Very realistic stuff.”

“Illusions? Never heard that one before.”

“Why? Egyptian magic doesn’t have that?”

“Not that I know of. I specialize in elemental manipulation, with a touch of combat. There probably is, I just forgot about it.”

“How do you forget an aspect of magic?” She asks.

I chuckle. “Trust me, when you’ve been been doing this for as long as I have, things tend to bleed together.”

She nods, suddenly taking an interest in my amulet. She points to it. “That’s...Isis, right?”

“Yep. I nod. “Goddess of magic, among other things. She is ...who I follow. My doctrine.”

“So you follow the gods?”

“The Path of the Gods, yes. Magicians pick which Path they want at an early age, and train for life. You can switch...sometimes. There’s no harm or shame, but it is rare. Think of it like picking who your godly parent is, but remove having a mom or dad as a god.”

She blinks, mouth open. “Wow. So...how does it work?” 

I smile. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

“I don’t understand. Ask ...Isis? How?”

This is going to be good. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One Year Ago  
Brooklyn House

It came and went in the night, and it was fascinating.

Sadie and Carter had told me what it was like merging with a god, but actually doing it?

Amazing.

It all happened while I was asleep, mind you, but it felt great. The memories, all of that power, all of those moments...all in your head. I was a host to Isis, goddess of magic.

I walked downstairs the next morning, where Sadie was eating alone in the kitchen.

“Notice anything different about me, Sadie?” I asked. 

She looked at me for a second, then her eyes widened. “No...no...are you serious right now?”

I smirked. “Yep. Just as you said.”

She bent over laughing, nearly spilling her cereal. “I can’t believe it. You actually went ahead and did it. I…” She laughed.

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?”

She ran up to me, and hugged me. “Congrats, Jack. Congrats, seriously. Welcome to the Isis club.”

I hugged her back. “Thanks. So I guess I can use those avatars now, right? And lightning magic?”

She nodded reluctantly. “That’s why you requested it, right?”

“Yep. And I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“So there’s a goddess in you. Right now?”

“Technically, yes. I’m hosting her is the correct term. The majority of her consciousness is in the heavens. Just a tiny bit of her here.” I tap the side of my head. 

She mumbles. “I...I have so many questions. What does it feel like? I must be extraordinary, right? All that power-”

I hold up a hand, stopping her. “You’ll see at Capture the Flag tonight. So, want to talk to a goddess or not?”

“Well, alright then. Won’t be the first time.” 

We come to a secluded area behind the arena, and I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. “Alright Isis.” I whisper. “All yours for a few.”

Annabeth’s POV

Jack slumped down, his head went limp. I raised a hand, but he spoke. But it wasn’t him speaking.

“Hello, little girl.”

A female voice with an Egyptian accent spoke through his voice. His eyes were golden. 

“I...Isis?”

“That is my name. I see you wanted to speak to one outside of your pantheon, hmm?” ‘Jack’ stands up, in front of me.

“Y...yes. Is he all right?”

“Jack? He’s fine, nothing to worry about. He’s just taken a backseat to his mind for now. Perfectly harmless. So, questions, hmmm?”

I straighten up. “Ahem. So...you’re in Jack, right? How exactly does that work?” 

‘Jack’ smirks, holding his chin. “You do realize me being here alone is enough to anger your gods, correct?”

“I….no.” 

“Ah child, you have so much to learn. I believe you may need a little history lesson.”

O-okay, so Isis was kind of a smarty-pants.

“I really can’t remember how long ago it was...thousands of years, to be sure. But, you must know that we came first. The Egyptian civilization came long before yours or the Romans ever did. Our pantheon came first. Back then, we were focused on petty matters; pharaoh, dynasties, conflicts, what have you. These were paramount. But...but, it did not last. You Greeks came next to the North, and then the gods-damned Romans showed up and desecrated everything.” ‘She’ said with a scowl. 

I know my history. The last real pharaoh of the Egyptians was Cleopatra, who was overthrown by the Romans. The next ‘pharaohs’ were Roman puppet rulers, not true magicians. Reminds me of the Crown of Ptolemy. Nasty stuff. I wonder how Setne’s doing in his little snow globe. Ha.

“Anyway, us Egyptian gods and the Greeks knew each other were around, but did we care? Honestly, no. More important matters, as I said. But eventually, this and that happened, and we came to an...understanding. I believe your mother was the one who proposed it.”

“You mean Athena?” I asked. If what she was saying was true...the next time I met my mother, she had a lot of explaining to do. ‘Jack’ nodded. 

“Yes, yes, that was her name. A simple yet effective idea, it was. We stay separated as much as we can, no conflicts, as much as we could manage of course, not that we had any. Unlike their Roman counterparts, both of our sides never had a reason to war with another. Distance was one thing, and our respective peoples never had any issues. So peace it was. We stayed apart, and so we have for millennia.”

She smiled. “Your Apollo and Ra may know each other quite well. The rest of yours simply have forgotten, or do not care. Your Romans, on the other hand…” ‘She’ laughed. “They were something else. Had we fought, it would have been much more destructive. Like you Greeks, knowledge and civilization is our strength, not war. Well, that’s just me. Horus would disagree. I...by Ra. I must go.”

“Wait, why?”

“Don’t want my dear host to burn up. Nice talking to you, daughter of Athena. You would have made a fine magician.” With that, Jack’s eyes go back to their normal state, and he slumps over again.

“Ugh ...how long was that?”

I stand frozen, shocked by the causality of what I just did. “A ...few minutes, couldn’t have been much more than that. Why?”

He looks at me with a frown. “You ever hosted a god before?”

I shake my head. “No. Can’t say I have.”

He smiles. “Then that’s it. Plain and simple. She didn’t creep you out or anything, did she?”

“No. But surprised would be a better word.” 

“Did you get what you needed?”

I turned around, walking away. “Yes...and no.”

“What do you mean?” He asked. I knew what he meant, but the implications were...something else. Why had the Romans not contacted us about the Egyptians? We had talked since Gaia’s fall, yes, but they had still been indifferent to us at best. Their camp, if you could call it that, was a military fortress compared to our little camp. We would have been annihilated if the Parthenos hadn’t been revealed.

Truth was...we needed the Egyptians. Their magic and skills could turn the tide of any war or battle if a new threat arose. But even then...what would our parents, the Greek pantheon on Olympus, think of it? Did they disprove? Were they watching eagerly, waiting to see what happened next? I shuddered at the thought if it went they way they might want it to.

Would I stand by and idly watch as Ares with that stupid grin of his slaughter magicians by the thousands? As Hephaestus and his war machines burned Brooklyn House to the ground? If Zeus would use his Master Bolt to smite the army of magic and mages that had been around for millenia? 

Could it be? 

I shake my head. “C’mon. We have some stuff to do. How does riding a flying horse sound?” 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It sounded cool, and it kinda was.

But it was also not what I had expected.

The pegasi had their own stalls and everything (forgive me, I’m a magician, not a horse guy). The creatures were quite beautiful in their own right. I’d seen Percy’s Blackjack once or twice, but never seen one up close like this. I petted one’s mane, which neighed happily.

“He likes you.”

Butch was behind me, grinning.

“Really? I’m not much of a horse guy, but-”  
A wing backhanded me, throwing me forward a foot; I fell flat on my face, nearly breaking my glasses. Butch and Annabeth laughed. I had to admit, the situation was funny. Me, a powerful Egyptian magician with Blood of the Pharaohs, who had fought gods and won, had just gotten my butt handed to me by a magical horse? Okay horsey, you win this one. Because sometimes the best way to deal with a situation is to laugh at it. 

Riding the creature was unlike anything I’d done before. Riding with Freak was one thing, but a pegasi was much different than with a semi-demonic griffin. Actually being on top of the thing was...something else. It was powerful. And smart. Apparently, the things could talk, but only children of Poseidon and Iris could understand them. Huh. 

“Fun, isn’t it, magic guy?”

“I can’t hear you over this damn wind!” I scream, holding on to the saddle for dear life. Turning into a kite was one thing, but this was something else! The view was amazing; I could see the entire camp from here; I could see all the cabins, the Big House, the Parthenos, Gods of Egypt, even the beach! I wonder if I can go there anytime soon.

“You ready to get down?” Butch said. I didn’t respond. I was too entranced in the view. Wish I had a camera, but the Mist would’ve blocked it all out. What a shame. It really was something, to be honest. It made the Twenty-First Nome look like a cheap hotel. So large, and so much to do. It felt homey. Real homey.

“Not yet.” I said quietly.

“What? I can’t hear you over this wind, man!”

“I said not yet!”

“Really? There’s a waiting list, you know?”

I then get an idea. “You want to see something cool?”

“What is it?”

I yell. “This!” And I leap off of the bird, flying towards the ground. Butch yells in terror, turnig the horse around. But I don’t need a horse to fly. I’ve got Isis. I close my eyes for a moment, and let the magic take hold. I opened my eyes, as a kite. I shoot up into the sky twirling as I adjust to my eyesight.

I fly back to the ground, landing at Annabeth’s feet. She looks down at me, her mouth gaping. I squak. Hey lady, haven’t you seen a guy turn into a bird before? I turn back into a human, staff in hand.  
“I must say Annabeth, that was certainly fun. So, what’s next?”

“Holy Hera. You were...you just...I...what...how?”

“Magic. That’s all.”

Annabeth shook her head. “Do you have any other tricks to show me?”

“Well...there is one more. But you’ll have to wait until Capture the Flag to see it.”

Annabeth sighs. “Of course. Let’s see…”

The rest of the day went by without any more hijinks from me. I’d prefer to keep my friends’ sanity in one place, thank you very much. After a day of work, it was time for Capture the Flag.

Time to go to work.


	5. Chapter 5

After dinner, the war began.

There were two sides here: Red, and Blue. I was placed in Red. During the preparations (putting on armor, weapons, what have you) I had noticed that quite a few campers were giving me looks. I couldn't blame them. I had brought my own armor; compared to the helmet, greaves, arm guards, and chestplate of Greek armor, mine was more decorative than protected.

A white and golden cloak hung around my neck, with various House symbols and hieroglyphs to symbolize my status; many would protect me against magic, but besides Hecate Cabin as a possible opponent (underneath all of that armor, it was kinda hard to tell who was from whose cabin. You just had to recognize them, of course. Some would don their cabin symbols on their armor, others would not.

But they would definitely recognize me.

I held my staff in my left hand, ready for combat. See. here's the thing; I was alright personally with hand-to-hand combat, but I was much better suited for medium to long-range combat; that was elementalists like me specialized in. I was quite good, but focusing on the 4 elements could be straining. Cheese-not my thing.

That's where Isis came in.

Thanks to my link with her, I could utilize some lightning, but I would be taking a risk; too much, and it could make me pass out mind-combat. And that's where my combat avatar came in. Some campers had heard rumors about them, but they'd see one in action tonight. Isis', while not as combat-oriented as Horus' could definitely kick some ass if it needed to. In short, I'd look like a kite-guy with wings.

Yes, wings. You'll see.

"Alright, Red Team, form up!" One of the Red warriors beckons the crowd around her, which does so. I recognize her; Piper McLean, head counselor of Aphrodite Cabin, 'The Dollhouse', as I jokingly refer to. Wonder how good she is.

"You all know the rules. No maiming or killing, or no dessert for a week!" (Apparently, that's a thing. Must be a lot of paperwork). "Guards have to stand ten yards away from the flag. All items are fair game here, and try not to roughhouse the prisoners! Got it!"

A chorus of hoorahs and cheers fill the crowd. She's clearly popular. I wonder what she's done? People begin to group up into various teams; flag-guard, prisoner guard, and warrior.

"Hey magician, over here!" The chick calls me over to her group, which seems to be the majority of the team.

"Yeah?"

"You ever done something like this before?" She asks.

"I guess, but with more killing, and with angry gods."

She laughs, nearly dropping her dagger. "Welcome to the club. What kind of magic did you use again?"

"Mostly elemental, with a touch of combat."

"Wish I could ask more questions, but it's almost go time. Hey, don't you have a sword? And how good are you exactly with that staff?"

My khopesh appears in my right hand. I grin. "Very good."

She seems briefly shocked for a second, before nodding. "Okay. You'll be taking the west side of the forest, with Nemesis and Nike." She turns. "Holly! You're getting the new guy!" She turns to me. "They're good people. Now, go have some fun." She pats me on the shoulder. I chuckle.

"Oh, I think I will."

I walk over to the group of demigods. If I recall correctly, thanks to Cleo's handy little booklet she made for me, I'll be working with children of the goddesses of vengeance and victory, respectively. What an odd combination. A pair of girls, who look like twins. One holds a spear, while the other holds a sword and shield.

"Hey new guy. What's with the robes, and where's your armor? You'll get stabbed easily with that cloth on." One of them says mockingly.

"I have worn this armor while slaying gods and magician imbued with great power. I have killed gods and demons with this staff." The khopesh flashes into my right hand. "You desire victories, do you not?"

They look at one another, and laugh. "This guy is great!" The other girl cocks her head. "Follow me, new guy. Hey, what's your name again?"

"Call me Jack."

So these campers were pretty good. And I mean good. By Ra, these Nike kids were fast, and these Nemesis kids seemed eager for a fight. I watched my back, just in case, Cause, y'know, revenge and all that. I had struck up some quiet conversations with a gaggle of Nike and Nemesis campers. The Nike ones seemed particularly interested in all the fights and victories I'd been involved in. Nemesis….just kind of watched, but talked occasionally. We hadn't seen much fighting, but my gut instinct told me that something was coming.

"So you fought alongside a dwarf of all things, and he wore a speedo? That ..." Damien shook his head. "Gods, must've been a sight."

"Oh it was." I said. "He also had a thing for a cat, and later hippo goddess?"

"You guys have a hippo and cat goddess?" A Nike kid laughed. "What do they do, anyway?"

"Well, the cat goddess is named Bast, lord of cats. All cats on Earth on her subjects, and she has the best reflexes I've ever seen. Killer driver too. The hippo is Taweret, goddess of childbirth and fertility. One of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Se runs a retirement home for gods."

"Retirement for-"

An arrow strikes her shield, nearly toppling her.

"Apollo!" Someone says from the back. "Damn! We're pinned!"

We take cover behind some boulders, as a group of kids fire volley after volley of arrows at us. They eventually stop firing, moving to flanking positions. I grit my teeth.

"Who wants to see some fireworks?"

The Nikes look at me with a confused look. "What?"

"You guys want to win, right?"

"Of course we do! Our mother, and her children, us, embody it!"

"Alright. Here's what's gonna happen. On three, I'll give you guys covering fire. When I do, I want you to use the trees to charge them. It won't last long, so you 'll have to make it quick."

"What do you mean by, 'covering fire'?" Damien asks.

"He means real fire!" Holly said. "Didn't you see his performance yesterday?"

"Are you guys ready or not?"

"Okay! One...two ...three!"

I run around the boulder, yelling as two pillars of fire erupt from my hands. "Bow before the might of the true sun god!"

They shoot over the heads of the Apollo campers, causing them to drop some of their weapons and scatter. Zia would be proud. My fellow campers charge after them, roaring. I follow them with my staff. I come upon my first target; Will Solace, my de facto tour guide. He's scrambling around on the ground, looking for his scorched quiver.

"Sorry, man." I take the rope given to me, and bind his hands. He's still in shock as I bring him to the Nemesis kids, rounding up the majority of the archers.

"Some of them got away, but we'll find them." Says a Nemesis girl as she rounds up our prisoners, leading them towards the jail, where they'll be turned over to some Hephaestus kids with some nasty-looking hammers.

"How in Hera did you do that?" Says Holly, walking up to me, impressed.

"Magic comes in many forms. I'll tell ya later. C'mon, we got a game to win."

As we set off towards Aphrodite, who's run into some trouble. Not sure why putting beauty specialists on the front line was a good idea, but whatever. As we split into groups, I get my first close look at the forest around Camp Half-Blood. It's full of monsters, apparently. Makes the game all the more dangerous ...and fun. Apparently, using technology like phones, TVs, computers, etc. makes you monster bait. Well, that sucks. Guess my room at Brooklyn House would be monster central if I was a half-blood.

My thought train is interrupted by an Aphrodite boy with a dented helmet and shin shin plates falling off. "It's Ares and Athena. They've pushed us into a corner by the river, and we've lost a lot of guys!"

"Ares and Athena!?" Both Victor twins exclaim at the same time. "Damn!"

Even the Nemesis kids looked worried. The Nike kids seemed agitated. They were grumbling about a 'win streak' or something like that.

"Can you do anything about this?" Damien asked worryingly. I noticed that a lot of campers were looking at me, like I had the magical answer to this. I grip my Isis pendant, and present it to them.

"I've saved one last trick for them." I smile. "Who wants to see a combat avatar?"

The plan is simple; appear like we're doing a full-on charge, to draw them in. I'll unleash my ability, and go to work. Quite a few other cabins are closing in from both sides, apparently. Probably want to see us get destroyed with a combination of strategy and brute force.

Not today.

With a battle cry, Nemesis and Nike plunge into the small gorge, charging into the Ares line. The Nike kids are fast, and Nemesis works quite well together, they're having it rough. The monster Clarisse slams the butt of her sword into Damien's head, knocking him down. I turn my attention to Athena, summoning water magic to disorient them. Annabeth leads them.

"Hello, friend." I say as my water blasts the Malcom kid to the ground.

"Jack." She says, readying her shield and sword. "Having fun? Heard you used some fire on Apollo. Said something about the 'true sun god?'"

I laugh. "The most powerful one, anyway. But…" I drop the staff. "I'm afraid I won't need this to beat you." I raise my fists, putting them into a fighting stance. "Isis, to me!"

Annabeth chuckles, stabbing me in the chest with a sword. But it slams into an invisible barrier, as I begin to lift off of the ground, green energy surrounding me.

"Combat avatar ...activate!" (Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy, but I'm trying to show off). Around me, Isis' avatar form. It resembles a larger version of me, glowing with blue light. The left left hand a staff is held, the right glowing with power. Two wings sprout from the back, personifying the goddess. It's not built for direct combat, but it can hold up just fine with magic.

The four cabins briefly stop fighting, gaping at the combat avatar standing before them. Shouts of surprise and confusion ring out as several objects are thrown at me, but I just laugh.

"Fools! You dare to fight me, a magician of the House of Life? Now learn, kiddies."

I roar, slamming my staff into the ground. A shockwave knocks the surrounding enemies on their backs, even throttling some trees. They'll be fine...I think. With my right hand, lightning shoots out of it causing a small explosion, sending a group of Ares campers flying. Clarisse drops Holly, growling. With a roar, she charges me.

"I am Clarisse, drakon-slayer-"

The combat avatar scoops her up, laughing with the combined power of a god. I pluck the spear out of her hand, inspecting it. "Not bad, Clarisse. Not bad at all. You would have made an excellent combat magician, I'm sure of it." I use simple Earth magic to bury her legs into the earth.

"Who's next?"

The enemies disperse, running into the forest in various directions. The remaining Red campers cheer, rally and charge after the. The wings on the avatar flap, giving it a speed boost as I weave my way through the trees, chasing my prey. I use earth magic to uproot large clumps of soil and chuck it the retreating campers, showering them in dirt, knocking them down.

"How in the name of Zeus are you doing that?" Piper shouts, knocking down an Athena camper.

I smile. "Magic. I-"

One of the trees near me grabs the avatar's right arm, wrapping tightly around the wrist.

"Demeter cabin!" Holly says. "They're manipulating the trees around us! They definitely don't want to lose!"

A second branch starts to wrap around my throat, trying to strangle me. I torch it with fire, reducing it to ash. I slammed a fist into the tree, cracking the bark.

You wanna play, farmers? Okay, let's play.

I close my eyes, concentrating as the energy focuses into the staff. I opened my eyes, and I hurl a massive gust of wind at the line of Demeter campers, sweeping them off of their feet. Wouldn't kill them, of course. No killing or maiming, or no dessert. And those harpies make killer Jell-O. Even better than Khufu's.

Where are you, Percy? Don't you want to see your friends' asses get kicked? C'mon.

I continue to march towards the enemy encampment, which has descended into chaos. My avatar has scared the hell out of them. Red team forces are hitting them from all sides. Spears and arrows fly, shields and swords clash, and I'm loving it. This has been the most intense fight I've been since that sewer fight in...never mind.

The enemy weapons have started to take a toll on me. The avatar begins to weaken, the light shimmering.

"My magic's going out! Get ready!" I yell to my comrades as they charge into the fray. I drop the avatar, and engage the enemy in front of me. Two Ares campers rush me with swords, but I use some earth magic to bury them up to their heads in dirt. I knock a Demeter fighter on his ass with my staff, before blasting an Athena kid with some wind, knocking him into his comrades.

"The flag!"

A Nike camper rushes past me, towards the flag, positioned on the hill. As she runs to grab it the river bubbles; then explodes as someone rises out of it.

Percy.

"Jack!" Percy exclaimed with a grin as he draws his sword. "I see you've been busy! Enjoying your first game of Capture the Flag?"

Crap. He's on the other team.

"I suppose. I assume you're going to try and stop me, aren't you?"

He smiles. "Enough talk."

A funnel of water spews from his hand, flying towards the Nike camper, flag in hand. I concentrate on the water, trying to slow it down so she can run back to our line. I'm good with the 4 basic elements, but his dad is the master of the stuff. He tilts his head as the water funnel slows down.

"Not bad, bud. Not bad at all." He responds with a massive surge of water thrown towards me, meant to take me out of commission. I respond with a blast of fire, the two elements counteracting one another. Yet he is more powerful than me; a problem that needs to be dealt with.

"Let me take control, just for a second." Isis whispers in my head. "Let me show this startup what happens when he messes with the real thing."

"Not helping, Isis!" I yelled as I dodged another blast of water. I briefly look at the Nike camper, who has the flag and is being escorted by her brethren. Just a couple hundred more feet, into those trees, and we can win. Just gotta buy some time for them to win.

"Go!" I get slammed by another wave, throwing me back several feet. I hit the ground hard, a sharp pain racing through my back as I try to get up. He's standing on top of a column of water, looking down on me.

"You're good, Jack. But not that good."

With an outstretched hand, a miniature storm forms around the Nike camper, pulling her towards us. The flag flies out of her hand, and into Percy's. He grins.

"Looks like I've still got the touch. C'mon. You beat that snake guy with that kind of power?"

I growl in anger. I know what he's trying to do. He wants me to lose control, so he can win. But what he doesn't know will hurt him. I close my eyes.

"Isis, you want to play for a minute?"

And I lost control.

She took over my body, relegating my personality to the back of mind, like a person watching a movie. My eyes opened, glowing pure white. I speak in her voice, not mine.

"I have had enough of your meddling, god-kin. Begone."

Percy yelps as 'I' blast him with a maelstrom of lightning magic, sending electricity through the water. He gets shocked almost instantly, falling off of his makeshift column, his clothes smoking. My possessed body walks over to him, using wind to pick him up.

"Abomination. Fool. Arrogance like that will get you killed."

"What are you-" A punch to the face silences him. He falls flat on his face, knocked out. Satisfied, Isis, still controlling me, picks up the flag and walks to the recovering Nike camper, being tended to by her two co-counselors. 'I' hand it to them, which they reluctantly accept.

"What in the name of Zeus was that?" Laurel Victor says.

"A touch of magic." Isis says sarcastically before leaving me, giving me control of my body back. I smile.

"Satisfied?"

"Gods, yes!" The three say at the same time. The twins run to Red territory, flag in hand, cheering. I help the wounded camper back to the line.

"Red team is tonight's victor!" Chiron announces. "Extra dessert for a week for all winning cabins!"

After the game, a party was thrown. I downed gods know how many root beer floats and ice cream. I was looked upon with awe from the people who had fought with me and against me. Did I have fun? Hell yes. Yet as I retired to my cabin for the night, I was regretful.

Looking back, I had won. I defeated Percy. But I had to give myself up to my patron to do it. What would the Kanes have thought of me? Had I gone too far? I had hurt him bad. I'd seen Chiron and some satyrs carrying Percy to the Big House during the party. He looked fine, but his clothes had seen better days. The centaur had taken a glimpse at me, shook his head, and walked away.

I needed to think.

I decided. I'd contact Brooklyn House tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, I woke up in a sweat.

Something felt...wrong. Was it magic? Had a god been up to their shenanigans again? Was it...ah, right. I had electrocuted my friend over a game last night.

Well, technically it was a goddess who did it, but...well, I did decide to let her possess me. And while my team did win and have a pretty kickass party at the end...Percy wasn't doing do good. He'd been kept in the Big House overnight, being tended to by Chiron. I had used magic with friends before, but I never used it like this. Taste testing Jaz's potions was one thing, practice fighting with Julian's combat avatar was another. But...I'd never hurt them. Not too seriously, anyway. A few bruises and cuts here and there.

But I could have killed him. She could have killed him. Granted, I don't think she would have actually done it-but it could've happened. Well, if there were going to be consequences, I'd better go ahead and deal with them now.

Best not to wait, I suppose.

I get up, and get dressed quickly. I put on my pack and glasses, and leave. It's morning, and the campers are getting ready for their day. I walk to the dining pavilion, following a large cluster of students. Upon noticing me, they begin to whisper fervently.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who fried Percy?"

"What was up with that ghost thing with the wings? What kind of magic was that?"

"Did you see him shoot fire from his hands?"

"He's awesome!"

"Are all magicians like that?"

"They make Hecate look like a bunch of kids playing with toys!"

Great. I was starting rumors already. Wonderful.

I walk into the group, getting a lot of stares. Then one of them tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, good game, man. That stuff you pulled was awesome."

I put on a smile. "Thanks! I try!"

Another kid asks me a question about magic. Then another. And then another.

"Guys, I-"

"Everyone! Please stop pestering our guest."

Chiron stood before our group, with a neutral look on his face. "Mr. Samson, follow me if you would please."

Crap.

"Uh, okay." I follow him away from the campers. I wait until we're out of earshot before talking.

"Sir, I would like to apologize for that usage of magic last night with me and Percy. Per House regulations, for such an overstretch of my abilities, I officially submit myself to disciplinary action. I can get some healing potions that can-"

Chiron holds up a hand, stopping me mid-sentence. "Percy is fine." He says. "He, and I want to talk to you about your...skills. Your display of lightning manipulation caught my attention."

"So ...what exactly do you want? I'm not in trouble?"

He chuckles. "Oh, you are. Somewhat. But I can safely say that I personally think you've made an impression. The whole camp's been talking about you and your….abilities."

"In a ...good way?" I'm worried about the way he said that.

He simply smirks. "I suppose you'll find out soon."

We continue walking, silently, until we reach the Big House. Inside, at the pool table, Percy sits with his legs up, drinking hot chocolate and eating some nice-looking oatmeal. I sit in a chair, and let Chiron take a seat.

"You were pretty good last night, Jack." Percy said.

"Pretty good? I could have killed you! Or worse!"

"But you didn't." Chiron interjected. "And that's what concerns me."

I look down at my oatmeal, shamefully. "Isis." I finally say.

"While I've certainly seen godly acts of power in my life...I've never seen anything like that. What exactly happened? From what I've heard, the Nike campers say your eyes glowed and you spoke in a different voice. The Hecate kids picked up a gargantuan magic spike. What exactly did you do?"

"Well, sir, to put it simply, I let the goddess I 'follow', Isis, goddess of magic, temporarily control me, giving me a massive power boost, but at the same time I lost control of myself. My mind ...took a backseat, let's say. And...well, the rest is history."

"So you let a goddess control you to help you win?"

"It was a kind of a heat of the moment thing, sir. But yes, looking back...it was foolish."

"Well, at least you acknowledge it." Chiron groans. "You won't believe the stuff Hecate gets up to." He turns to Percy. Remember when they turned Nike into hamsters last time?"

He laughs. "That one was good. Didn't they lose dessert for two weeks?"

"That they did. Anyway, back to you…" He coughs. "Although you won the game, your usage of this goddess in such a way went too far. From now, stunts like that are...prohibited. Do you understand?"

I nod. "Yes. Sorry." I look over at Percy. "Dude, I'm sorry I let a goddess possess me and electrocute you. I could have killed or severely maimed you, and I'm sorry."

He nods. "Yeah, I'm glad your friend didn't kill me. My baby sister is due soon, don't want to miss that."

My eyes widened. "You're going to be a big brother? Really?"

Chiron stops us. "Well, Mr. Samson, effective immediately, you are dismissed. But I'll be watching you."

I nod. "Yes sir." I turned around and left, heading towards the dining pavilion. The stomach wants what the stomach wants.

After a breakfast of bacon, bacon, and oh yeah, bacon, it's time for my first activity of the day.

Sword fighting. Wonderful. No staff today, I'm afraid. I adjust my shirt and glasses, and head over. Unlike yesterday, there's quite a few people there.

"Nice job yesterday, dude!"

I turn around. It's that Piper chick.

"Piper, right?" I say. She nods.

"Saw you do that magic stuff yesterday. I gotta say, I am impressed."

I chuckle. "Yeah, well that's about all I can do. But, thanks. Hopefully, you'll see more magicians here in the future."

She raises an eyebrow. "Just how many of you guys are there?"

"At Brooklyn House? Eh, thirty or forty of us. But across the world, there's a whole lot more. Three hundred and sixty nomes, I think."

"Three hundred and sixty? Wow!"

"Oh yeah. There's one in Antarctica. It's a punishment one, though. Like Amos said, just come cold, angry magicians and magic penguins."

"Did you say magic penguins?"

"Oh yeah. Had to fight 'em once. Wasn't fun."

Our conversation is interrupted by a horn. It's one of those Ares kids, Sherman Yang. On yeah, the guy I flamed with my avatar. Huh.

"Listen up, noobs!" He roars. "Some of you are new here, others are not. Regardless, we, the children of Ares, see it fit to deliver you all a sense of war!"

Several more Ares campers roar and cheer behind him. He scans the crowd, looking at the motely group of campers before him. His eys settle on me. He grins.

"Well damn, folks, looks like we got us here a special magical snowflake!" He points at me.

"Who, me?" I say sarcastically.

"Yeah, you." He says. "Get over here."

I walk over to the gaggle of Ares campers. I stand before Sherman, looking him right in the eyes.

"I must say, that little stunt you pulled last night was decent. But can you beat us in a swordfight?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

He looks at me with a frown. "Where is your sword?"

I grin as I pull mine out of the Duat, into my hand. He growls.

"That looks cool, but let's make it interesting. Put the curved thingy down."

"It's a khopesh-"

"Curved thingy!" He roars. He grabs a Greek sword, and hands it to me.

"Come on, into the ring. And don't forget your armor."

"How in the name of Ra do you guys fight in this?"

Valentine Diaz, the Aphrodite girl in charge of the armor shrugs as she helps me put it on.

"You get used to it. It's a little heavy, but it's simple and effective. Don't get me wrong, what you were wearing during capture the flag looked neat, but this has more bang for your buck."

"I guess. Though the helmet does feel weird."

I thank her for the armor, and walk into the arena, it awkwardly clanking as I go. How in Horus do the Greeks use sword like this? I wonder as I pick up the shield, holding it in front of me. There's a crowd gathering. They probably expect me to kick Sherman's butt with magic. They'll probably be disappointed.

Sherman walks out in his own armor, and I gotta give it to him-it looks way cooler than mine. Decked out with various trophies from enemies he's killed (probably) with red stripes and decor on it.

"Well well guys! Today we got us a special fight! Sherman Yang vs. magic guy!"

"It's Ja-"

"Let's go!" He roars, pointing his sword at me. He charges at me.

"Crap!" I awkwardly run out of his way. He turns around and hits me in the back with his sword, sending me reeling.

"Come on! You took out two entire cabins! You can do better!"

I growl, readying my sword and shield for the next strike. I manage to block some of it alright, but he is strong. Very strong. The blowback sends me reeling again. I drop my sword, wobbling around like a decapitated chicken. Yang smirks behind his helmet.

"Look at you! Without your magic, you're useless. You can't do a thing without your abilities! You cannot even fight!"

Useless?

Cannot fight?

By the Nile….no.

I look up at him. I spread out my arms. "Alright, boy! Come on. Hit me with your best shot!"

He moves in for the kill.

"Sa-per!"

A hieroglyph blazes in front of him. He grits his teeth, and swings.

He misses.

He swings again.

And misses.

Swing. Miss. Swing. Miss.

"What did you do to me?" He tries to stab me, but hits the air. I stand perfectly still. Smirking.

He looks at his sword, then me.

"I said miss. And you did."

"You-"

"Ha-di."

The ground around him explodes, knocking him down.

"Tas."

Him arms and legs tighten, refusing to move. I walk over to him, bending down as he tries to get up, in vain.

"You would make an excellent follower of Horus. But you what?" I do a mock salute. "You're damn good. And you are right. I suck at sword combat. So…"

I clap my hands, releasing him from my spells. He gets up, shaking dirt off of him.

"Would you mind training me? Show me the ropes?"

He responds by headbutting me in the face.

Wonderful.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I wake up outside of the arena a few minutes later, with two Apollo campers fixing my nose. An, that ambrosia stuff tastes weird. Jaz's stuff tastes much better, but this will do.

"You good, man?" I recognize the girl Kayla, I think.

"Uh, Ra. That hurt." I sit myself up, propping my body up on the wall. Blood all over my hands. Damn, he got me good.

"Ra?"

"Uh, sun god. Our sun god. Kinda like your dad...just no healing, music, or arrows."

She chuckles. "Sounds boring."

I smile. "I wish. But his power...man, makes your old man look like a firecracker."

"I don't get it."

I groan. "Thanks for the help. What happened?"

"Uh, you got your butt kicked. Hard."

"Yeah." I look up at the sky. "What else is new?"

"Well, you got a letter, apparently."

I raise an eyebrow. "Letter?"

"Yeah. Apparently a falcon dropped off a letter at the camp entrance. It's addressed to you. A Hermes kid told me to get you down to the House ASAP."

"Carter." I say under my breath. "A falcon, huh?"

"Yeah."

I smile. "A friend of mine can do that."

"Your friend is a falcon?"

I get up, still a little wobbly. "Wanna see a magic trick?" I turn into a kite, and fly towards the Big House. Wonder what this is all about.

My flight was short. I had to see what was going on. I transformed in front of the House, scaring a few satyrs, before meeting Chiron at the doorstep. He hands me the letter.

"I see you got the message. The falcon told me it was for you."

"Carter talked to you?"

Chiron mumbled. "So that was his name."

I thank Chiron, and go behind the House, in privacy, and open the letter.

Jack,

Hear your first few days are going good. We saw you use Isis through the Du'at. To say Sadie flipped would be an understatement. I gotta say you're doing a great job. Amons is...well, Amos about, but he seems to be going along with everything. Anyway, things at the Nome are great. We all miss you. If you work out well, this whole exchange thing might happen again. I can see Jaz getting along with those Apollo kids. She'll be coming soon. And it'd be nice to see Percy and Annabeth again.

On other matters ...remember Governor's Island? That mess? We've got some weird magic spikes coming from there. It could just be Duat stuff...but we're keeping an eye out. We've also been getting some odd readings from the Empire State Building.

Yeah.

See if you can find anything out about that, if you can. If need be, we'll send some backup.

Have fun,

Carter, Sadie, Walt….

Aww. That's sweet. Everyone at Brooklyn House signed it. Even Khufu, which just is a bunch of scribbles. Neat.

I stuff the letter in my pocket, and walk away.

Governor's Island? I wonder. What could be happening there?

Chiron notices me. "What was the letter about?"

"Good wishes." I grit my teeth and walk away.

The rest of the day is good, I guess. Had a lot of fun-more pegasus riding, some swimming with naiads, and some canoeing. But the letter hung over me.

By Ra what did it mean?

That night, I decided to do a little call.

I remember what Malcolm taught me, taking out a drachma.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the Kanes."

A portal blinks, and a moving live picture of Carter and Sadie appears. They're in the library, talking. Cleo's over with Julian, talking about Horus...stuff, I think.

"Hey, guys!"

"Jack! Is that you?"

"You bet, Julian."

Energetic as ever, I see. Carter speaks first.

"Jack. How you doing?"

"Pretty well. You won't believe the shit that goes down here."

Sadie grins. "I saw what you did with our friend Percy. Damn, you're crazy."

"Not as crazy as dating the god of death. Oh, by the way, the kid of Hades is coming tomorrow." I roll my eyes. "That'll be fun."

Sadie gives me the death. Cleo laughs. Hard.

Carter shakes his head. "So, I guess you're here about the letter."

"I suppose."

Sadies' death stare turns into a frown. "Magic spikes there. Again."

"Setne?"

"All fine and cozy in his snow globe." Sadie chuckles.

"So who else could it be? The book of Thoth is back where it belongs, and the only people with access to that magic are in this room."

"Not me!" Julian snorts. "Not my thing."

"Anyway." Carter continues, "What concerns me more is the Ra-damned Empire State Building. Our relationship with the Greek gods is bone-dry at best. We've only spoke to a few-"

I interject. "Being stalked by Poseidon doesn't count."

"Anyway." Carter looks at me. "We need to find out what's going on, fast."

I nod. "I'll see if I can into any missions here. Ask around."

He grins. "We'll do some investigating ourselves. If need be ..."

I cock my head. "Plan Alpha?"

Sadie nods. "Plan Alpha."

I grin. "It'll be done."

I go to sleep that night with pride, and worry.

I hope that we can solve this, whatever this is...but not the way we planned.


	7. Chapter 7

As I slept, I had but one thought in my mind:

How the hell did I get here?

Well, let's see…..  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Louisville, Kentucky

Several Years Ago

It only took a second for my life to change.

It was a weekend, a Saturday, I think. Yes, that. I was leaving the house to check some mail. Sounds innocent, right? Well, it was. The day had been nice; the sun was out, I was due for a movie that night, and my grades had been through the roof.

That is, until the entire house blew itself to smithereens. I got hit in the back with some debris, knocking me out for several hours.

When I woke up in a hospital with multiple third-degree burns on my back, I got hit with the news; my parents had been killed, along with my pet.

Sounds so cliche, right? Guy loses his parents, goes on an epic quest for vengeance to find out who did it, gaining some badass friends and powers along the way, right?

Well, it didn't really happen that way. Turns out it was a gas leak, no magic or demons or gods involved, whatsoever.

I got treated, and a friend let me stay at their place for a while. Those were dark times, no joke. I was seeing a therapist. On meds. I could barely keep myself together to get my schoolwork done. I cried. A lot. I felt like nothing would pull me out. I just went to school...sometimes, and then went back to my room. I would stay there day after day, sitting in bed, on my computer. I was hopeless. I had nothing.

But two months after that, I felt something...odd.

A presence, calling to me.

Something in New York ...somewhere.

I couldn't describe it to you without sounding crazy, but it was like I was was a piece of metal, and the...the thing that was calling to me was a magnet. I couldn't get it out my head. New York. New York. New York. Come to New York.

Then I found the weird glowy spine thing in my locker the very next day.

And then...I knew.

Whatever was in New York...if it were this powerful, maybe it could help me.

So I got a plane ticket, packed up my stuff, and headed for New York City.

Once there, I got down to searching.

Turns out I wasn't the only one looking for answers.

I was in Brooklyn. I was getting closer. I could feel it. The thing had a brighter glow to it than ever before. At last. Maybe, just maybe…

"Hey."

I turned around. Behind me, in the dank, wet alleyway was a large Africa-American guy. He looked to be fourteen, maybe fifteen. He was holding a glowing thing, too!

"Y-yeah?"

"You're looking too, aren't you?"

The hell was this?

"I-I guess, yeah. I seem to be getting kinda close. I think whatever's guiding this thing is in Brooklyn."

He nods. "Where'd you come from?"

"Louisville."

His eyes widen. "Damn. Seattle. Looks like you had an easier time getting here."

I shake my head. "You don't know the half of it, bud."

He takes a step towards me, holding out a hand. "Walt Stone."

I accept it. "Jack Samson. You look a little young to be alone."

He chuckles. "I'm 14. If you knew ..."

I nod. "Fifteen. Now, let's go find this thing, yeah?"

"Hell yeah."

"Hey."

"What?" Walt says in an annoyed tone.

"I'm not the only one seeing that, am I?"

Walt turns around, and gapes. "Is that a mansion?"

I snorted. "Knew I wasn't going crazy. You think…"

Walt nods. "Has to be."

I take the lead, balling my fists in case this is a trap. Kinda feels like it. But the weird backbone thing has been glowing even more. We'd been searching for hours, going through dank alleyways and busy streets.

Then, we found the mansion. We could see it, but all the passerby couldn't. We decided to take a risk, and enter. Because at this point, that mansion was all we had. We walked towards the warehouse on which the mansion sat on top of. How weird. But I suppose that compared to what I've seen over the previous weeks, it was nothing.

As the two of us got closer and closer, the house began to become more...clear. I could see a pool. A small field of grass surrounding it. It looked like a place where a super rich guy would stay. Like in the movies, of course. Or an evil villain.

"Hey!"

Someone called behind us. We turned around. The girl looked like a teenager, with blond hair. British accent. Huh.

"You can see the place, right?"

We both nod.

"Come with me." She beckoned us, a staff appearing in her hand. She seemed genuine. Walt and I looked at one another. Well, we didn't really have any options. We walked over to the girl, and with a clap of her hands, she teleported us inside the mansion.

It was beautiful.

"Welcome to the Great Room, magicians!"

An African-American boy of about fifteen was waiting, followed by a massive guy who kind of looked like Al Pacino if he was black. He was huge.

"Magicians?" I say. "Like the ones who pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

The tall man laughed. "No. But close enough." He extends a hand. "Amos Kane. Welcome to Brooklyn House. You, Mr. Samson and Mr. Stone, are the first to respond to our djed. You do not know this, but the both of you carry the Blood of the Pharaohs in your veins. In the coming weeks, we will teach you how to use the art of magic."

"It will change the way you see the world. It will change you. But you two, along with many others, hopefully, will learn the Path of the Gods, the path to power."

"Gods?" Walt asked.

"Oh yes. Many."

The two kids move next to the guy. A baboon with a basketball, runs up next to them.

I think to myself. You know what? Fuck it.

"Okay." I say. "I'll join you. You in, Walt?"

Walt nods. "Let's do this."

I was allowed to pick my room that night, after a nice meal. Of course, half of that time was spent looking at the crocodile in the pool. Not something you see everyday. To say my room was awesome would be an understatement. It had everything. An Xbox, big-ass flat screen TV, amazing view of the city, a bed and bathroom like something out of a 5-star hotel...it was awesome.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One Week Later

Brooklyn House, Brooklyn

Concentrate, damnit.

Almost...there!

Fire erupted from one hand, a gust of wind from the other. The shabti to my right was roasted in flame, the other shattered my the force of wind.

Sadie gave a small clap. "Damn, not bad. Multiple elements."

I nod. "Path of Isis. Divine words sound cool and all, but mastering all four elements sound awesome. Now I just need to work on these. I haven't even started on earth and water."

"Five." She corrected me. "So we've got us an elementalist. Very nice."

"Uh, five?"

"Cheese." She smiled.

"You're kidding, right?" She shakes her head.

"No."

I shake my head. "What else is new?" I say sarcastically.

Sadie pats me on the shoulder. "You'll get there."

I shake my head as I remember that conversation. I had never quite gotten cheese down. I was decent, but not great. Anyway, what was next? Oh right, Jaz.

Carter ran into the room. Walt was off making his charms. Cool stuff, but I was never really much of a hands-on guy.

"Sadie, we've got another!"

She cocks her head. "Another…"

"Magician! Right on our front doorstep!"

I run out of the training room with Sadie, to find a girl sitting down on the floor, backpack in hand, panting. Sadie runs to her, helping her up.

"Are you okay?' What's your name?"

"Jaz...Jasmine Anderson. This is the place...right? Where that spine thingy led me?"

"Djed? Yeah." I grab her other arm. "I'm Jack. That's Sadie and Carter, and Walt over there."

She looks around the Great Room. "This place looks awesome!"

I nod. "It is."

And that day was the start of the friendship between us three 'beginners', the first three to answer the call of the djed. We were close, as friends. We watched the initiates flooded in from across the world. We trained together, lived together, hung out together, and went with the Kanes on their journey to beat Apophis together. We beat Apophis together.

I was also able to get some help from my host goddess of all places. And being with these people and training alongside them helped me, too. I went to a new school-Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted. Awesome place. I made quite a few friends there, one in particular, Lacy. She was nice. I couldn't help but feel guilty hiding my secret from my non-magician friends, but it had to be done.

Little by little, my life improved. I began to be more open, more ...well, me. I had issues, don't get me wrong, depression and autism didn't mix well. I don't like to talk about it, but finding Brooklyn House was probably the best thing to ever happen to me. I found a new family, friends, and a new purpose in life. After we beat Apophis, I thought that would be it. But, being the world of magic, it never worked like that.

And it was me whom they shared their greatest secret, that fact that our pantheon was not alone.

"What?" I asked, after Carter and Sadie told me their stories about these 'demi-gods.' "So you're saying that all this time, other gods have existed too? Why didn't Amos tell us? Why did the gods not tell us this?"

"It's probably for the best." Carter said. "But they seemed like nice people. But they don't know where we operate from, and vice versa."

I thought about it for a moment, then I turned to Sadie.

"Hey, didn't your mom mention other gods? And didn't you also say that you guys detected magic signatures by Long Island? You don't think ..."

The realization hit all three of us at the same time.

"Long Island." Carter said. "That could be it."

"So they have magic too?" Sadie almost yelled.

"I...I have no idea." I said. "But we only have one way to be sure."

"No. Absolutely not!" Sadie said. "That is...no! That is a massive safety risk!"

"Sadie." I said, "We could just have a meeting with them. Somewhere. Carter, didn't you have burgers with that water dude?"

Carter nodded. "So what are you suggesting, then?"

"That we arrange to meet them somewhere, like a restaurant or park...or something! We can just talk, without any worry or….fuck, I don't know. Just an idea."

Sadie scratched her chin. "I suppose that could work. Let me and Carter talk about it."

I nod. "Alright then. I won't tell anyone. Not Amos, not Khufu, no one."

As I leave, I head to the library. Perhaps…

"Hey Cleo!" Our resident librarian is sitting at her desk, reading some scrolls with a shabti.

"Hey Jack! Looking for something?"

"Ah, yes. Yes I am. Can you have one of your shabti send anything you have on Long Island and Manhattan to my room?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Sure...why?"

"Research, Cleo, research. Y'know...demons, gods, magic, that kind of stuff."

"Alright. Should be up there in a bit."

"Thanks!" As I turn away and head out the kitchen, I consider what the hell is going on here. Other pantheons? Other gods?

This must be considered, and dealt with.

Governor's Island

Some Time Later

It had been done. Setne was trapped in his globe, and I was sitting next to the Kanes, as well as two walking contradictions of our current existence. But they seemed pretty cool.

"Thanks for coming, Jack. Having Isis there really helped."

"What can I say, Sadie? It was exactly like you said it'd be. Having her in my head, all of that power, the incessant talking…"

Sadie elbowed me. "Ha! Just like I thought!"

"Percy, that's your name, right?"

"Yeah."

"Nice water-bending back there. Impressive stuff."

The demigod nodded. "You did pretty well to. That winged avatar of yours was pretty cool."

I laugh. "Yeah, having a goddess in your head does that to you. You know, for a first-timer, you did a pretty good job hosting. Not bad, man,"

He raises an eyebrow. "You do that all the time?"

"Oh yeah. It's fun."

The chick, Annabeth, shakes her head. "I'm good with being a demigod, thanks."

"Well, it's not for everyone."

"So you guys really live in a mansion?"

I nod. "On yeah. It'd awesome. Actually ..." I look over at Carter and Sadie, who nod.

"Maybe, if time abides, we of the Twenty-First Nome would love to have you guys as guests. See the place, check it out."

"Just don't tell Amos." Sadie said, packing up her stuff.

"So how does that sound?" Carter said. The two children of the gods look at one another.

"We'd have to keep it a secret, of course. But...why not? I'd love to learn about you guys. Secretly, of course. Can't tell Chiron."

I grin. "And we're trusting you with this. You'll have to tell us stuff, too. An exchange of knowledge."

"Of course. I mean, you all seem quite trustworthy."

Sadie stands up. "You have our numbers, and we have yours. We'll talk later."

We said our goodbyes, and we turned into birds, flying away back home.

As we flew over the city, I wondered. I took a quick look at the Empire State Building as we flew by it.

Only I seemed to notice the surfer dude and the brown-haired, silver-eyed woman staring at us as we flew away.


	8. Chapter 8

And how exactly did I get involved with the affairs of Camp-Half Blood?

It all started with a field trip gone wrong.

Very, very, wrong.

Our class was going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art that day. I had been there a few times with members of Brooklyn House. The Temple Of Dendur was an excellent place to do rituals. No better hobby than talking to gods, I suppose. I was in Lacy's seat. She was talking to Drew, known for being a colossal bitch at BAG. Bossy, controlling...she was you typical 'bad bitch' kind of person.

There was another person there, too. Piper McLean. Her name sounded familiar, though I can't remember where I'd heard it before. She was the opposite of Drew; nice, outgoing, and friendly. Just...don't get on her bad side. The three of them apparently went to some summer camp. Drew used to be a 'counselor', until Piper stepped in, and took over. Huh.

"So, Jack." Lacy asked. "You ever been here before? I've heard it's awesome!"

I smile. "It is. I especially like the Egyptian section. The Temple of Dendur is pretty neat."

Piper leaned in from her seat across from us. "You seem to talk a lot about Egyptian stuff."

I shrug. "I like the style. Especially the buildings."

"Buildings, huh?" Piper raised an eyebrow. "You sound like a friend of mine. She loves, and I mean loves architecture. Her name's Annabeth. We go to camp together. You probably don't know her."

"Oh, Annabeth!" Lacy interjects. "She's awesome!"

I froze, while the two of them continued talking.

Knew Annabeth?

Like the Annabeth I fought alongside against Setne?

Could it be ...? Could Lacy be a demigod?

Well, it would explain her single dad. Sure, she has a stepmom now who's pretty nice, but still...it would explain a lot.

If so, who would her 'mom' be? Athena? Demeter? Hera? No, not the last one. But…

Ra's light, could it be?

"Jack? You there?" Piper's questions snaps me back to reality.

"Yeah, sorry. Zoned out there for a minute. What's up?" I tried to not look suspicious or anything.

"Tired? I don't blame ya. Say, why'd you bring your card?"

I looked at my pocket. The blue card stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Oh, ah, if I want to buy anything. You know me, collecting and all."

"Mm."

The bus stopped shortly after, and we got off together. I knew this place like the back of my hand; summoning and talking to various creatures of the Duat could be risky. The Temple was useful for communicating with gods, but sometimes demons seeped through.

Seeped being used lightly here, of course. As Sadie would say, "It's magic. Nothing we do is normal."

Our groups split up; I went with Lacy and Piper. Drew...eh, couldn't care less. She could go to the dumpster and hang out with garbage like herself.

"So, where do you guys want to go?"

They both shrugged.

"You've never been here before?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"Well then." I grin. "Who wants a small lecture on Egyptian artifacts?"

Piper and Lacy look at one another, and nod. "Sure, why not?" Piper said. "Not like we have anything better to do. Lead the way, Egyptian."

She said the last word in a sarcastic tone, but she never knew just how right that was.

After a few minutes of walking, we entered the room where the Temple is held. It's quite something to look at; the stone looks gorgeous. The markings and hieroglyphics were beautiful; something I could read very well after my...experience.

"Wow! Look at those pictures!"

I couldn't blame her, but calling hieroglyphics 'pictures' really miffed me. And any magician one could talk to, I suppose. Real magicians, not the kind that pull rabbits out of hats. That's just Set messing with mortals.

"Well, actually, Piper, those are called hieroglyphics, not pictures. Those 'pictures on the wall tell a story...a very old story."

I point to the base. "See that man at the base, surrounded by the leaves and papyrus? That's Hapi, god of the Nile River. The Egyptians associated him with the plentiful food and resources the Nile brought them. Water to drink, water to farm, water to trade and travel upon...beautiful stuff...what a guy, though. Really lived up to his name" I chuckled. My Hapi encounter with the Kanes had been memorable, that's for sure.

"Excuse me?" Lacy asked.

I smirk. "Sorry. Nothing. Anyway, over here, see that by the gate?" I point to the gate. "That is the sun disk of Ra, the sun god. Those wings? Those represent Horus, god of war and the sky. Real rule of the sky is Nut, but anyway-"

Both girls laughed. Great, more people laughing at Nut's name. I'll admit-when I first heard it, I laughed too. So did the Kanes, so did our initiates, and basically everyone in Egyptian history who heard it for the first time. You get used to it. But after a while, it.

Just.

Gets.

Tiring.

I sigh, waiting for the girls to finish. "Nut is the goddess of the sky. Stars, clouds, you name it. Her domain. She-"

Piper snickered again. "I'm sorry, just having a goddess named Nut is hilarious."

I let out a chuckle, hiding my displeasure. If only they knew...I looked up at the sky.

"Sorry." I whispered at the skylight. Hopefully she heard that.

As I turned to look at the girls, whose faces were plum red from laughing, I noticed a blink of light from inside the temple.

Huh?

I took a closer peek, making extra sure not to trip any alarms by getting too close. Normally, Sadie would take care of that, or Carter would accidentally trip them (believe me, it's happened. Too many close calls for me to count). Then we'd go inside, do our ritual, and leave. No issue.

But this...felt different.

As I got closer and closer to the gate, I felt a cold presence. A dark presence. Something felt off.

Too off.

"Jack?" Piper asked from behind me.

"Stay here. It's not safe."

"I don't-"

I snap around, my hands glowing. "It's. Not. Safe."

I turn around, looking at the Temple again. It was glowing red. Very red.

Than, as many things do in the magical realm, it exploded. The force of it threw the three of us back, thought I was able to negate most of it with some wind. Ash and soot covers us.

"Jack?" Lacy asked nervously. "What's going on?"

"Jack!"

Something ...someone rose out of the ashes, staff and wand in hand.

No...holy Horus, no…

"Sarah Jacobi?"

"Well, look who it is. Follower of Amos the traitor!"

She looked pretty similar as when Anubis/Walt pulled her into the Duat. But she'd been given a few new changes. Her eyes glowed a mix of red and orange, and a green mist seeped from her cracked skin. Her wicked smile hadn't changed, and she was surrounded by a mix of hieroglyphics and storm clouds.

"No ...how?"

She cackled like a witch. "Oh, dear Jack. I cannot tell you, for I must kill you. Magicians like you have corrupted our beloved House. You and your kind have racked up a sizable debt. It is time for me to collect."

"Magician?" Both girls said at the same time. I took a step back. I focused, and my card transformed into my staff, appeared in my left hand, and my khopesh cam out of the Duat into my right.

"Girls ...run!"

As they turned to run out the room, Sarah pulled Piper to her. Lacy screamed and ran.

"Get away from her, you bitch!"

A burst of fire erupted from my staff, roasting the undead magician's right arm. She dropped Piper. I expected her to run, but instead, she pulled a dagger from her pocket, slashing widely at the magician. She got a few good cuts in, but Jacobi laughed, hitting her with a lightning bolt, sender skidding across the floor, limp and shaking from the shock.

"Piper! Piper!" She didn't get up. I dropped my khopesh, and yelled into my hand.

"Carter! Sadie! I'm at the Met! Dendur has been destroyed, and Jacobi is back! I say again, Jacobi is back! The bitch is back!"

I pick up my khopesh, and get ready for a fight.

"Let's go! We killed you once, and we'll kill you again! By Isis, I'll destroy you!"

Now I'm pissed. I summon lightning (thanks Isis), and some fire, which I hurl at her. She dodges some of the shots, but most hit her. I levitate myself into the air, readying for a fight.

Missing so much, Jack? Did my former Eye not teach you that well?

"Shut it, Isis, not now!" I dodge another lightning bolt from Jacobi, which shatters some glass behind me. Some of the shards go into my back, but I can ignore it. Goddess of maternity, folks. I can deal with the pain.

"How the hell are you still alive? The god of Death himself sent you to the Duat!"

She laughs, energy flowing around her. "That is where you are wrong, puppet! Egptian magic destroyed me, but there are others! Other who can bend such elements of their will!"

"What?" I throw my khopesh at her, spearing her in the chest. She yowls in pain, green energy, pouring out of her chest. She rips it out, tossing it aside, but the damage has been done. The green energy starts to wane, only by a little bit. Attrition it is, then.

I hit her stunned form with a blast of wind, throwing her against the wall. I hear several bones crack, as she drop her staff, trembling as she tries to get up.

Yes, burn her! Burn that traitor!

"Thanks for the advice, genius!" Another lightning bolt hits her, shattering more of her form. She shrieks, a wave of storm clouds hits me. It sends me flying through the wall and into a room filled with people. She floats behind me, with a grin on her face.

'Is that all?"

I look around. My staff is gone. Damn. I grip my khopesh, entering a fighting stance.

"Ask yourself this, Jack." She floats to the ground, red fire at her fingertips. "How long did you think the secret could be kept. How long do you think such power could be kept secret?"

"You mean…"

"Yes. Those fools above the Empire State Building. Did you think their power would be their forever? No. It must be used...properly."

"Like Setne?" I grow as I shoot a plume of fire at her, which she deflects.

"That fool? No, but he was close enough. Hmm." She looks to the crowd of people running away from our little confrontation. Whatever they think they're seeing, they have no idea.

Dammit Kanes, where are you?

I try to turn into a kite, retreat to a safer position, and find my damn stuff. But as I'm about to turn, a bolt of red lightning slams into me. My clothes start to burn, and I writhe in pain. I scream in agony, as a gust of wind lifts me up.

She is powerful. Very powerful.

"Goodbye, Mr. Samson. Relish your pain, as it shall free you."

"Not yet."

A javelin slams into the back of her chest, impaling her. She screams, dropping me. She tries to pull the spear out of her chest, but fails. The javelin flies out of her, leaving a gaping hole, and back into the hand of a man. He's wearing a purple shirt, kind of tall, and with blonde golden hair and green eyes. He nods at me, before charging at her, roaring as lightning and clouds began to form around him.

He's not alone; behind him is an African-American chick with red hair and a sword; a Latino boy with a greased shirt and tool-belt, and an Asian guy with a bow and arrow. They all simultaneously attacked him with various powers. I can't focus, I'm burning, I'm hurt. I need power, dammit!

Power.

I close my eyes.

Isis, give me strength.

A combat avatar forms around me, as power and relief flow through my body. I climb up, a shimmering, more beautiful version of me taking the form of my combat avatar. A giant glimmering golden version of me, with flowing blond hair and pale white eyes. That's the cool thing about Isis avatars; they're you, but an ideal, near-perfect looking version of you. Not some chicken guy like Horus. Heh.

I use its wings to propel me outside, where the three are currently fighting the resurrected magician. The boy is shooting fire at her, the girl is stabbing at her with a sword, and the guy in the purple shirt is hitting her with repeated lightning to put an end to this. My avatar strides over to Sarah, and grabs her by the head. Her end is simple; I throw her on the ground and crush her under the avatar's left foot, turning her into dust. I lose the avatar, and I collapse to the ground.

"You okay?" The Latino boy asks.

"Hold on, Leo." The guy in the purple shirt says. He grabs me by the shirt and lifts me up. Fuck, this guy's strong.

"Who in the name of Jupiter are you? And what did you do to Piper?"

"I-"

He throws me to the ground, pointing the sword at my neck.

"Never in my life have I seen someone do something that like. And I'm damn sure you're not a demigod. So...who are you!?"

"Ra, stop! Percy, Percy! I know Percy. And Annabeth! Okay! I'm friends with them! Call them up, tell them that it's Jack from Governor's Island! Just don't fucking kill me!"

He lowers his sword. "Did you say Governor's-"

A load of falcon shit hits the guy right in the face, sending him reeling. Behind me, the Kanes transform back into their normal selves, weapons and magical items ready.

What the fuck, Carter?

The kid, Leo, is laughing his ass off, while the girl is chuckling.

"Nice job, Jason! You literally just got shit on!"

I turned around to the Kanes, angrily. No, Sadie. This time I'm giving you the death stare.

"What took you so long?"

"Brother dear, did you really have to take a dump on that fellow?"

"What...took...you...so...long?"

She blushes. "I was napping."

Carter squirms. "So was I."

"Are you-"

"Hey now." Sadie interjected. "Rest is for the weary, sleep is for the dead."

"Really, Sadie? Doctor Who, now? I was talking with that guy!" I turn to Carter. "If you hadn't literally shat on him-"

"Hey!"

The Jason guy is back up, with his face, hair, and shirt stained with bird poop.

"We're not done!" He grits his teeth, brandishing his sword. The others behind him take battle stances.

"Guys, this whole thing is a misunderstanding. I-"

"Who are you guys?"

I look at the Kanes, then back at the trio. "You said you knew Percy Jackson?" Sadie said.

"Yes."

"Alright." I put my hands up. "Let's just calm down, and talk about this."

Jason looks at us, then looks at his sword as it turns into a javelin.

"Weapon!" Carter yells.

"Carter, no-"

He summons a Fist of Horus, sending Jason flying.

Fuck.

Leo shoots a ball of fire, which I dodge, and I return fire (literally), blasting him. Only he walks out unharmed.

"What?"

"I'm a fire user, smartass." He blasts me again, which I respond with "Sa-per!" He keeps shooting fire at me, but misses again and again.

"What's the matter hotshot?" I tease. "Can't hit a close target?"

He growls, grabbing his tool-belt for..something. He looks kinda young. But, I guess it has to be this way. I raise a mock finger gun, aiming it at him.

"Ha-di!"

The small explosion knocks him back a foot, off of his feet.

I take a look at my fellow magicians. It's not going so well. The black chick is summoning some kind of illusion, throwing off Sadie's blasts. Carter and the Asian guy are fighting...badly. The latter is obviously well trained with that sword; Carter's only blocking his moves, and even then he's losing.

We're losing.

A massive lightning bolt hits the ground right in front of me, throwing me against a tree. I howl in pain as I feel my right arm crack, and go limp. I fall over, gripping my arm as Jason walks over to me.

"How-?"

"Son of Jupiter, master of lightning."

He slugs me in the face with his fist, knocking my limping form down. He grabs me by the hair, and hits me again.

"Tell. Me. Who. You. Are."

I look up at him, bleeding from my mouth. One of my teeth feels loose.

"Your mother-"

A gust of wind threw me back into the tree, sending waves of pain through me. Jason's pissed. He hits me again, causing one of my teeth to fly out. I cough out more blood, as my vision starts to black out.

"One more time. If you don't answer, I'll kill you. Now…"

He leans in his sword. "Who. Are. You. And. Where. Do. You. Come. From?"

"Hey, asshole!"

Jaz is standing behind him, hands glowing. He raises his sword at her, only for her to hit him with the Seven Arrows of Sekhmet. He drops like a dead bird, retching and coughing. Blood trickles from his nose and mouth. She rushes over to me.

"Jack! What happened to you?"

"Beat up...not feeling' too good…"

She puts a healing potion in my mouth, and creates a protective circle around me.

"Beat up? He nearly killed you!"

I chuckle. "Understatement of the day."

"I'll have Freak take you back to Brooklyn House as fast as I can. Called in some backup."

She moves, giving me a good view of the parking lot, which by now is filled with smoldering cars, burning grass, and craters. She did bring help. Zia uses her staff like a flamethrower; sending the Asian guy running. Walt/Anubis is fighting the chick with the sword; they both seem to be using death magic, summoning spirit after spirit to do battle. Looks like the tide is turning.

The Kanes, not so much.

Carter's leaning against what used to be a Toyota, while Julian applies a makeshift splint to his broken leg. Sadie has a black eye and some burns, while trying to down a health potion.

"When's Freak coming?"

"I don't know!" She looks up at the sky. "Should be soon. Carter summoned him a minute ago!"

I try to get up, but fall over again. Jaz eases me to the ground.

"Try to talk to Isis, see what she can do!" She turns to Zia and the Asian guy. "Time to finish these pricks."

She gives me a kiss on the forehead, and with a battle cry, summons her Sekhmet avatar; a giant human lioness. She uses its giant paws to grab the Asian guy who's nearly got Zia in a choke-hold, and throws him into the gift shop, sending him through a pane of glass, where he slams into a table.

She growls, turning to Walt, who seems to be overcoming the other death magician. She hits her with a blast of energy, frying her. Her clothes burn, as she stumbles before landing face first onto a car hood.

"You go, girl!" I yell as Jaz. That's my girlfriend, Hell yeah. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that?

As she turns away, the boy begins to...change. His skin turns into scales, and his body changes and morphs into a dragon.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jaz says. The dragon blasts her with fire,, setting her avatar alight. The dragon flies up to the top of the museum, its flapping wings knocking Walt back. Julian isn't having it. He summons his combat avatar, using its twin khopesh to scale the wall of the museum. He begins to fight the dragon, slashing wildly at it.

The dragon roared as one of Julian's blades slashed its left wing. It primed it tail for a strike, but that's when Alyssa entered the fray. She used her staff to lift massive amounts of dirt and soil from the ground, throwing the massive clumps of dirt at the beast. It distracted him long enough for Julian to slash its throat, red blood spewing from the creature.

It quickly demorphed back into the Asian guy, who had a small scar on his neck, gasping for air. Julian used his avatar to pick the boy up, depositing his unconscious form in the gift shop by throwing his body through a hole in the roof. He fell onto a table of rain makers and slumped over, defeated.

Freak lands in the parking lot a moment later. Julian, Walt, Zia, and Jaz pick up our wounded, and bring them to the mini-boat under our resident griffin. Jaz and Zia pick me up, putting me in first.

"Great job babe." I say, somewhat delirious.

Jaz shakes her head, laughing. "Oh you."

"Flirt later, work now!" Zia chimes.

We both blush, as we work to get the hell out of here. Police and fire trucks are already on the scene. Walt tells me that the mortals think it's a hospital helicopter. Funny how magic works. Alyssa's there, too, trying to repair what damage she can to the Temple in the museum After we've loaded everyone in, Freak takes off, flying back to our home base. I take one last look at the museum. I see a car pull up.

Percy and Annabeth step out.

They seem to notice our griffin, then the people who had just tried to kill. They shake their heads, before making some kind of phone call, then driving away. The Jason kid looks pretty bad; Sekhmet magic did its work on him. Aside from nearly literally puking his guts out, he looks pretty sickly and bloody, crying in pain. That's what you get, asshole.

I apply some more potions as we near Brooklyn House. We nearly lost three magicians, one of our prime summoning spots was destroyed, and we nearly destroyed an entire museum.

Who the fuck were those guys?

I notice Carter's phone ring. I take it from his pocket, as he's in no state to answer it. Granted, I'm really not either, but the potions are kicking in.

I answer it.

"Hello?"

Percy's voice on the other end has a tint of anger.

"We need to talk. Now."

Fuuuuuuck.


	9. Chapter 9

As Freak flew us back to Brooklyn House, desperately tried to stay calm while on the phone with a very angry demigod.

"Who is this?"

"Uh, Jack. Eye of Isis. I complimented you on-"

"I remember why. Would you mind explaining to me why the Met is half destroyed, and several of my friends are nearly dead?"

"Wait. You're friends with those psychos? They tried to kill us!"

"Ex. Fucking. Plain what happened!"

I cough up some more blood.

"A Chaos magician came out a portal. Damn near blew the place up. I fought her. She almost killed me. Your friend Jason, some Latino kid-"

"Leo."

"And some chick with a sword, along with some crazy shapeshifting motherfucker-"

"Hazel and Frank."

"They saved my ass, then I took the bitch out, then Jason thought I killed Piper, then some of my magicians show up, we fought. Damn near killed each other. We-"

"You better watch what you do next, Jack. Tell Carter and Sadie I said hello. I'll be investigating this…" He groans. "Mess from over here. As a friend...please, don't go causing any trouble."

"I'll try not to, I-"

The line ends.

"Shit!" I mutter under my breath, handing the phone to Alyssa, who puts in in Carter's pocket, who's now asleep. Sadie is, too. They both got hit pretty hard. Looks like the healers are going to have their work cut out for them.

We finally arrive at Brooklyn House. A bunch of our trainees and shabti ferry us out of the barge. Freak, for once, is not freaking, rather staring at Carter. Hm. Must be a Horus thing. Julian helps we walk to the infirmary, where I take a seat on one of the large window sills. Isis seems to be healing my wounds. The others? Not so much.

By the time Jaz gets to work, I wish her luck before excusing myself. I head to my room, where I collapse on my bed, grabbing a bag of Doritos. Extra large. Damn the calorie count, I need this. I quickly look at my phone, which Lacy is blowing up. I'll make an excuse for leaving the field trip later. Right now...right now I need to think.

So, let's set the scene. My two best friends (in school) are demigods, and they have demigod friends more than capable of kicking our ass. Oh, and looks like Sarah Jacobi, who was pulled into the fucking Duat by Anubis himself is somehow not dead...but also not alive at the same time. Anyway, back to our demigod chaps, as Sadie would call them.

So we've got a guy who can use lightning. Shocking. Hahaha, so punny, I know. We have another guy who can freaking shapeshift (why can't we have that power?), and they also have another death manipulator. Oh, and they have a 'fire use'. Why can't they just call it elemental magic like us for chrissakes?

So, recap; we nearly got our asses handed to us, only thanks to my girlfriend, Carter's girlfriend, and Julian. Don't see that every day. Sadie and Carter will be out of commission for some time, so I have no real idea who's going to run this place for now. Maybe me? Hmm, that would be cool. Also, don't tell Amos. He's gonna flip. Big time. How'd that conversation go?

"Yo, Amos, how are you doing buddy? And Set too. Tell him I said hi. Anyhow, don't get mad, but for the past several months we've been in cahoots with some Greek demigods! That's right, demigods! You know, children of other gods who we totally had no idea existed, but you probably did? Anyway, we trapped Setne in a snow globe, thank you very much. Makes for a nice decoration.

Anyway, so the Temple of Dendur hs been completely blown up, by Sarah Jacobi of all people, who apparently isn't dead! Then we fought some demigods, and won. Just barely. So Amos, buddy, how are you doing?"

Yeah. It'd go over great.

I set my chip bag aside and pull up my laptop. Yeah, the Met took a huge hit. Looks like a bomb was dropped on the place. Jeez. Hopefully we can get some Earth magicians in there later to fix things up. No idea if that temple will be able to be rebuilt. But that's not on my priority list of worries. The demigods are going to hear about this, sooner or later. They could attack this place if Percy or Annabeth reveals our location.

But they wouldn't do that.

Would they?

And if they did, a war might begin.

And Plan Beta would have to be used.

Something none of us want to happen.

Someone knocks on my door.

"Come in!" Jaz enters. She looks exhausted, sitting down next to me.

"Hey hon."

"Hey." She smiles, kissing me on the cheek.

"How are things down in the infirmary? Need some godly help?"

She chuckles. "I'm good. Sekhmet's been very helpful today. She gave me a little power boost."

"Your avatar." She nods. She's a decent fighter, but she's rarely ever used her avatar.

"Well, today was different." She shrugged. "They're asleep now, but they'll take several days to fully heal." She looks at my scarred arm. "How are you healing so quickly, anyway?"

I smirk. "Eye of Isis, remember?"

She giggles. One of my favorite things she does. "Soon to be Eye of Sekhmet, hopefully. Sadie's been giving me tips. I suppose having a boyfriend who's a current one would help, too?"

"True."

"So, watcha doing?" She grabs the bag of chips, and starts to eat.

"Thinking. Rest. Mix of both, honestly." I stare at the waterfront. Damn, it's noon already. "I'm worried, Jaz. I really am."

She scoots over to me, taking my hand. "It's ok. What is it?"

"It's whatever's going to happen next. I...we...fucked up, Jasmine."

She doesn't get mad, simply listens.

"What if they retaliate, hon? What if they hit this place and…"

"Jack. That's not going to happen. You did the best you could. Come here."

She hugs me tight, and I hug her back. "We can fix this." Jaz said. "I'll have one of the shabti call BAG, tell them that we went home."

"I'll do it." I said. "As of now, I'm assuming temporary command on Brooklyn House."

"Really?"

"I have to. We need a leader." I turn to her. "We still down for tonight?"

"Of course! See you later!" She blows me a kiss, and leaves. I shake my head. I don't deserve a person like Jaz, to tell you the truth. Smart, loving, protective, and a hell of a magician. Since beginning our relationship after the Battle of Brooklyn House, we'd been working things out between us. None of us had been in a relationship like this before.

We'd been going on the occasional date when we'd had the free time, hanging out, and recently, been sleeping in the same room. No, not like that. Think of it as us having our own little sleepover with another. We'd both talked about it, and we're going to wait a little more before jumping in. Relationship goals; they're important. Besides, our birthdays were coming up in two weeks.

That's right, birthdays.

Turns out that both of us shared the same birthday! What a coincidence, huh? Who knows, maybe the gods were just messing with us, but yeah; our sixteenth birthdays would both be on the same day, and we sure as Ra would be celebrating it as a couple. We weren't the only couples in Brooklyn House; you have Zia and Carter (of course), and Walt/Anubis and Sadie (never had the guts to ask her how dating two different guys in one body worked. But that isn't my business).

Right now, I had decisions to make.

I walked downstairs into the Great Room, in casual wear. Never wore shoes inside-always socks. You could feel the tension-Shelby and the ankle-biters were unusually quiet. Julian and the guys were awkwardly sitting around on the couch, ignoring the blaring TV. Jaz and Alyssa were hurriedly talking, albeit quietly. Even Khufu was quiet, staring at a piece of bacon while Philip eyed it hungrily. When the gods-damned baboon is quiet, you know something's up.

"Someone turn off that damn TV." I say. Julian hits the remote, turning it off. I take a deep breath.

"As you all know by now, Carter and Sadie are temporarily out of commission. There was a fight at the Met. A bad one."

I sigh, I feel like I've failed these kids.

"As of now, I declare myself temporary acting Head Magician of Brooklyn House until the Kanes recover. The battle that we fought-it was not against demons. Rather...it was Sarah Jacobi, somehow resurrected."

The room is filled with gasps I hold up a hand.

"But that is not all. You see...Sadie and Carter, along with me, have hidden something from you. Something dangerous. Something...mysterious. You will find this hard to believe; trust me, I did too. Our pantheon is not alone in this universe."

More gasps.

"I'm guessing some of you are familiar with the Greek gods? Athena, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, et cetera? Yeah, they're real. And their goddamn headquarters is on top of the Empire State Building. It's been right there in front of our faces this whole time. Better yet? Those gods have children with mortal beings, making demigods, who can have special abilities."

I continue.

"Some time ago, me and the Kanes fought along a daughter of Athena, Annabeth Chase and a son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson against the magician Setne, who aspired to become a god and make Governor's Island his realm. With the assistance of Nekhbet, we stopped him once and for all. But we fucked up. I fucked up. We fought some more at a field trip gone wrong today. As of now, I am locking down Brooklyn House in a temporary state of emergency."

"So...we lay low for now. We wait until the Kanes heal, then we will find them. Talk with them. And attempt to end this conflict before it hits both sides. Thank you. If you'll need me, I'll be in my room."

The bombshell was dropped. The stages were set.

Now, what came next would make history.

That night, as I laid in my bed, staring at the ceiling, I thought and thought.

What should I do now?

Jaz slipped into bed next to me in a nightie, kissing me. She'd been training with our initates all day.

"Good speech back there."

"I know. I'm just worried about what comes next."

She brushed her blonde hair, shaking her head. "Do you have a plan?"

I nod. "I do. But I'm not sure if it will work. It's...risky."

I tell her the plan. Her eyes widen.

"...so that's why I'll need you guys as backup. See if you can talk to the Kanes' ren. I hate to ask you any more favors…"

"It's ok. I don't have anything planned for the next few days. Nothing big in cheerleading."

"How's that going?" She'd joined the BAG team after getting settled in Brooklyn, and been a damn good one. I had to give it to her-balancing magic and cheerleading was no easy feat. Her athletic skill and stamina helped her in combat, too.

"Great. Coach Sam's said that I've been doing really good for a 'newcomer'. Pfft. If only she knew…"

"Sounds like a bitch."

"Nah, she's good. We might make it to regionals, or even state if we're lucky. Anyway ...anything else?"

"No."

"Night."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

We got under the sheets, and fell asleep a few minutes later.

The next day, I set my plan into motion. I wrote a note, putting it on my nightstand. I took a quick shower while Jaz and the rest of the House was still asleep, got dressed, ate a banana, and left the building. I nodded at Philip, who stared worryingly at me as I walked onto the patio. I tossed him a piece of bacon.

"See ya around, bud."

I turned into a kite, and flew towards Long Island. It took me a few minutes to reach my destination, but I found a clear spot to land, and transformed back into me.

My target was dead ahead. I was in front of an array of strawberry fields, with a sign saying Delphi Strawberry Service Growing Grounds on it. I began to stride through the fields, looking around. No one seemed to be around. Well, it was 6AM. What would you expect? I continued walking towards the forest in front of me. It didn't take me long to find a tree, with a large golden dragon wrapped around it, with a golden fleece on it.

Just what I needed. I walked over to the dragon.

"Ahem. Yes, you. You with the wings and snout, please."

It grumbled, looking at me with a confused look.

"Hello! Magician here, House of Life. I'd like to speak to-"

The dragon swats me with one of its claws, knocking me out.

Wonderful.

"I'm telling you, Chiron, he just walked right in as if nothing was stopping him!"

"And he just stood there while the dragon hit him? This sounds very suspicious, Mr. Underwood."

"I'm telling you, he walked right through our fields and the barrier!"

I come to, tied to a chair in front of a pool table. Several people ranging from middle schoolers to teenagers are sitting around, talking. Is….that a fucking centaur? Ra..fuck me. But, don't actually. Please.

I'm guessing this is what Percy called the 'war room'. No one seems to notice me awaken. I decide to break the ice.

"You know, if you just untied me from the start, this whole conversation would go over so much easier."

"He's awake!"

"Finally." The centaur guy-Chiron, I think, strides over to me.

"Would you mind telling me who you are? And what are you doing here?"

I sigh. "Name's Jack, magician extraordinaire. Pleasure to meet you!"

He steps back. "Did you say magician?"

"Oh yeah. Just from Brooklyn, passing by. Listen, we kinda need to talk about what happened yesterday."

He eyebrows raise. "Brooklyn? Magician?" He turns away, sighing. "I suppose it had to happen sometime."

The campers begin peppering him with questions. He turns around silencing them.

"You come to talk peace?"

"As acting leader of Brooklyn House, I want to on my behalf apologize for what happened yesterday. I don't want to start a war or any kind of conflict. We've known about you for some time, and...well, shit happened."

He turns to the demigods at the table-counselors. I recognize one of them. Annabeth. She's pretending that she doesn't know me. Probably for the best right now. He gives them the lay down of the situation, and of the Egyptians. Their reactions are priceless. Mostly yelling and screaming, with quite a bit of swearing. Chiron manages to calm them down.

"You all have the right to be angry. Confused, even. But do not take your anger out on him. Me has done nothing wrong here."

"Nothing wrong?" Someone stood up from the table.

"Piper? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm the head counselor of Aphrodite Cabin!"

"You're a fucking demigod?"

"And you and Jaz and Alyssa were all magicians?"

"You'd think I would just tell you that, Piper? 'Oh hey Pipes-"

"Don't call me Pipes! Only Jason gets to call me that! And your girlfriend nearly killed him, you-"

"Stop!"

Percy fucking Jackson himself entered the room, with the Latino kid, and that Jason guy behind him. He looks completely healed, though he seems to be limping a little.

"Chiron's right. This whole situation was a massive misunderstanding. You guys don't need to be afraid of them."

"Percy!"

He nods at me. "Sorry for the interruption Chiron." He turns to me. "Jack, good to see you. I've gotten their side of the story; now tell me yours."

I recalled the events of that day. When I finished the story, Chiron shook his head.

"So this magician...you defeated her before, right?"

"Yeah. The fucking god of death himself, Anubis, pulled her into the Underworld. If that doesn't kill you, I don't know what will."

An edgy-looking teenager with rustled black hair in a skull shirt in the group raised an eyebrow at me. Wonder who that is. Chiron shook his head.

"Well, it's going to be obvious that something's happened. Rumors are already spreading through camp. We have to tell them something."

"If you don't mind, I can do it."

Everyone turned to look at me.

"With respect...several campers have seen what I can do. What if, say, later, you gave an ...announcement? With me? I give them the simple rundown, then when the Kanes recover, they can come up here it talk business with you guys?"

"You have that authority?"

"As their temporary leader, I suppose I do."

"Pharaoh…." Once of the counselors whispers. "And we met the Romans only a few months ago! Now these guys!"

My eyes widen. "Romans?"

I had to wait until nightfall for my big moment. Until then, I was given a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and toured the camp, under guard. No one suspected me, and no other magicians came. Yet. I assume Jaz had relayed my message to the rest of the House. If all went well tonight, reinforcements could come in later, and finish this whole business.

That night, at the campfire, after mulling around for a bit, my time came. I stood by Chiron at the large amphitheater, while he gave his evening announcements. After talking about something something chariot races and something something Capture the Flag, it was my time to shine.

Chiron steps up. "Well, I have saved the biggest announcement for last. Well, as you all know, we met our Roman friends some time ago. We've enjoyed good relations and defeated one of the biggest threats to us, Gaia. The truth of the Romans was initially hidden from you, but there's no reason for that anymore. However...there is more. I'll let our newest guest explain it."

I step up to the crowd. "Thanks you, Chiron." I take a deep breath.

"Let me say first off that I am not a demigod."

Murmurs and whispers spread through the crowd.

"I'm no half-blood, and although I may not be directly related to one, I can use their powers. It's called magic."

"Like Hecate?" Someone from the crowd pipes up.

I shake my head. "No, but close. You see, you currently know of two pantheons. Yours, the Greek, and the Roman aspect of the former. However...there is another pantheon out there. One not related to yours at all. One far older than yours."

The whispers and murmurs grow louder, and some in the crowd begin to shift uneasily.

"My name is Jack Samson, magician of the House of Life, follower of the Path of Isis, and the Egpytian gods, led by the king of the gods, Ra."

The crowd exploded into various reactions, mostly of surprise and fear. Several straight up pass out. Some stand up, shouting various swears. The kids with the grey eyes, led by Annabeth, seem to be taking this well, quietly talking among themselves. The only other group of kids being kind of quiet is what I assume is the Hecate Cabin, who look ecstatic. Turns out they're not the only magic users around. Ha.

"Quiet!"

Percy appears from the crowd, followed by Annabeth and five other people. I recognize them from the battle of the Met. They don't seem to be hostile towards me. Odd.

"I have personally fought alongside this guy, as well as other magician, and I will vouch for him!" Thanks, Percy.

"I vouch for him as well!" Annabeth says. "I fought alongside him as well, and he mean no harm to us!"

"What about you Romans?" Says a burly girl. She's the counselor of the war god cabin. Ares, was it?

Jason steps forward, and nods at me.

"Dude, I am so sorry about yesterday." I whisper under my breath. "I-"

"It's alright, we had a misunderstanding. Right now, let's keep the campers calm yes? As former Praetor of New Rome, I forgive you for any past transgressions."

"By transgressions, you mean getting hit by a godly plague from my girlfriend."

He snorts. "I guess that counts, too." He, along with who I assume to be the Roman demigods (it's all Greek to me, I suppose) steps up next to Percy, Annabeth, and the Leo kid.

"We vouch for them, too!" Jason says. "He is a strong warrior, worthy of respect! He holds great power, along with the rest of them!"

His booming voice seems to quiet the crowd down.

"Ahem." I resume my impromptu speech. "Anyway...the main difference between me and a demigod is that although I'm not a child of a god, I am related to one of the many Egyptian pharaohs, in my case the pharaoh Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza. I, along with every magician in the world, has the blood of the pharaohs. This means that we can channel the power of the gods, allowing us to use their magic through us.

"I follow the Path of Isis, goddess of maternity and magic. I, specifically, am an elementalist; I am able to manipulate all five elements; earth, wind, water, fire, and cheese. Yes, cheese. A magician can choose any path he or she wants; think of it like a demigod picking which parent they're born to. It's kind of like that."

"And, uh...that's all I can really say. Hopefully the pharaoh of the house of life, which is the leader of all magicians in the world, will be here soon! Then, we can talk business. And, that's, uh, it."

I awkwardly step back next to the 'Seven' (wonder why they're called that?) as Chiron tries to calm the crowd. I really can't blame them. Trust me, I was surprised as they were.

"Please, for the love of the gods, settle down! We do not need any more conflict! Must I remind you what almost happened between us and the Romans?"

That shut them up. Chiron turns to me. "How long until your...leaders can come?"

"The Kanes?" I said. "Two days at most. I should contact them, let them know I'm safe."

"Done." Chiron says. "I'll send someone over from the Iris cabin to help you send them a message. You can stay at the Big House overnight. You can leave tomorrow."

"Mr. Chiron, I-"

"You will be safe there. I'm sure your friends will be able to wait."

"I thank you for your hospitality, but what about your gods?"

Chiron shifted his...feet? Hooves? "I suppose we will see."

I return to the Big House, where my room has been set up. It's kind of homey; a bed, wooden floor, walls, and ceiling, with a window and a small bathroom.

"Excuse me, you're that magic guy, right?"

A girl with hippie-like hair and glasses is standing at the front door, with a golden coin.

"Uh, yes."

"You need to talk to your friends...wherever they are, right?"

Where was she going with this? "Uh, sure."

"Well, that's what an Iris message is for! Uh, forgive me. I'm Marcy. My mom's Iris, the goddess of rainbows. We use her to send messages!"

"O-okay. So, how does this thing work?"

"See this golden coin?" She puts it in my hand. "It's a drachma, our currency. All that you need to do is say 'Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering.' After that, say who you want to talk to, and bingo!"

"That's..it?"

"Yep! Now, can you repeat what I said, to make sure you could remember it?"

I repeat it and she smiles. "Alrighty! You've got it! Actually, here's a few more just in case!" She sprinkles a few more into my hand, then turns around.

"Oh, and welcome to Camp-Half Blood!"

"Thanks…" I wait until she leaves, and closes the door. "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me...show me Carter and Sadie Kane."

The coin disappears, then a small portal appears in front of my face. It shows Brooklyn House's infirmary, but the image is quite fuzzy. Must me the magical wards doing work. Carter and Sadie are awake. Sadie is the first to notice 'me'.

"Jack? Blimey, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I think I've got a solution to our...problem."

"What?" Carter asks.

"While you were out, I assumed temporary position of Pharaoh and went to Camp Half-Blood. I've been-"

"You what!?" Both of them said simultaneously.

"Hey, hey! Calm down. I talked to Percy and Annabeth, and they seem to understand that the whole thing was a mess. Their camp director-centaur by the way, very nice guy, seems open to discussion. We might have a thing going here. I'll probably be able to leave tomorrow, and talk with you guys."

The two siblings look at one another. "Where are you exactly?" Carter asks.

"Uhh, this place doesn't have an actual address, but look for a place on Long Island with lots of strawberry fields. That's basically where I am."

"Strawberry field?"

"It's how they raise money, Sadie. Kind of a front. The company's called Delphi Strawberry Service."

"Well, that's how we get them. Nail them with corporate fraud." She says. I chuckle.

"So...you gonna come?"

"Yes." Carter says. "But we're bringing backup, just in case."

"Security reasons, I understand. I'll let Chiron know."

Carter nods. "I'll tell the other initiates. They're a bit worried about you. You girlfriend has especially."

I smirk. "Well, I'm glad to see you are doing well."

"Same to you, Jack. We'll be coming."

"Alright then. Bye!" The message ends abruptly. I trudge into the bed, where I go under the covers, and quickly fall asleep.

Tomorrow's going to be important.

Very important.

The next morning, I wake up and shower. A note is slipped under my door.

Chiron & co wish to see you. 6:30.

6:30? Can't a guy rest? Jeez. I get dressed, than leave my room. Percy and Annabeth are there.

"Hey." I said. "Sorry about yesterday."

"No worries." Annabeth says. "But there's been a lot of talk about you at camp. Hear anything from Carter or Sadie?"

"They will be here sometime today. With some other magicians."

"Other magicians? Just how many of you are there?"

"Well, Percy, there's about, say fifty of us at our nome in Brooklyn. You two have been there, so yeah. Let's say every nome has fifty. We've gotten lots of new initiates all over the world since Apohpis' fall, and the return of the Path of the Gods. So, fifty times three hundred sixty…"

"Eighteen thousand at least. Gods…" Annabeth shakes his head.

"Relax, guys. Now that Carter's in charge, I'm sure we'll be quite friendly. I mean, no other nomes know about you guys. It can be our nome's little secret."

"Chiron will want to hear about this. C'mon, I'll have some satyrs get us some food."

I follow them to the meeting room, where the assembled counselors and Chiron are. I take a seat. Annabeth tells Chiron exactly what I told her.

"So let me get this straight." A girl in the back says. Hecate, was it? "You're telling me that thousands of magicians have been on this Earth for longer than we have. Not only that, but they're also all around the world, and with powers like that?" She looks at Chiron. "Why did you never tell us about this?"

Chiron sighs. "Children...unlike the Romans, we never had conflicts of any sort with magicians. I have known about them for a while now, for many many years. Truth be told...the Romans would be more of an issue. They…"

"We." I say.

"They are not as warlike as the Romans. No, they are more similar to us in many ways. Intellectual, innovative...in many ways, your godly parents either do not care or have just plain forgotten. In fact, Jack's patron god Isis was the one who negotiated with Athena over certain matters, before our civilizations drifted apart. If I recall, the friendship was mutual."

"What!?" Me and Annabeth yell in shock at the same time. Chiron is about to answer, when a demigod in armor rushes in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we've got a group of people in the strawberry fields!"

"Must be my people. 'Scuse me." I walk out of the Big House, followed by Chiron and some counselors. I followed the guard through a path, until we get to the strawberry fields, and the dragon's tree.

"Yep. That's them. Hold up." I see Carter, Sadie, Zia, Julian, Alyssa, Felix, and Jaz.

"Hey guys! Over here!" I wave my arms, trying not to look like a fool.

"Jack! Is that you?"

"Sure as Ra, Carter. Just don't, ah, piss off our friends here. Don't want to start any wars today."

"Friends? I-holy shit! That is a centaur!"

"Language!" Felix mumbles.

"Yes, I am a centaur." Chiron says. "I assume you are this 'Pharoah'?"

"Yes I am, and who are you?"

"I am Chiron, activities and temporary camp director. Our head director Dionysus has taken a break."

"Dionysus? As in the Greek god of wine and parties?"

"Oh yeah." I say. 

"Please follow me." Chiron says. "We have much to discuss."

We followed Chiron inside. What happened next would make history.

Our little agreement was...simple. The Twenty-First Nome and Brooklyn House would keep quiet about CHB for now. We hated lying to Amos, but in this case it was for the best. Gradually, Chiron would allow for some magicians to visit, to learn more about the Greeks and Romans, and also to teach the demigods about the House of Life and Egyptian stuff in general.

Over time, both sides would become more familiar with one another. Not like there were many tensions between us, anyway. And that was where the idea of me visiting Camp Half-Blood came from. I wouldn't be alone; Jaz had elected herself to visit too, but had to be a week late for some cheerleading stuff. As for the Romans, Jason had been talking with the Praetors back in New Rome, and they seemed to be open to some interaction too. But for now, one pantheon at a time, eh?


	10. Chapter 10

I walked outside of my cabin, taking in the morning sun. It's been about a week since I got here, and I was loving the place, I really was. Made some new friends, got some rivals...oh, and my girlfriend would be here shortly. Swell. Apparently, she'd be coming around midday. She would've come earlier, but she had had cheerleading stuff to do. Competitions and all.

This summer was going to be fun.

Then things took a turn I wasn't expecting. Because of course it was.

But first, the mushy stuff.

Today's schedule had been quite combat-oriented. Dueling, monster fighting, what have you. I had struck up a rivalry with the Hecate Cabin, who had challenged me to a fight in the sword fighting arena. I was excited.

Let's see how fellow magicians go up against me. I stuck with my t-shirt, shorts, and shoes. Wand and staff in hand, just in case. Living dangerously and all that. Across from me was Lou Ellen, head counselor of Hecate Cabin. I personally viewed children of Hecate as discount magicians. Apparently, they could manipulate the Mist, creating illusions. I'd heard she had even turned some Romans into pigs...temporarily.

"Ladies first." I jokingly said.

She smiled, her hands flashing with green energy. The arena transformed into the Great Hall of Brooklyn House.

The fuck?

Several of our initiates...my initiates were standing there, hanging out. Julian and Alyssa were chatting over a bag of chips, and Leonid and Siyana, our two Russians, were talking in their native language.

Wait...that's not right. The magic in Brooklyn House was modified by Sadie to understand all languages. So why...it seems so real!

"Hey Jack."

Felix was behind me, smiling oddly, like a psycho killer from a movie or something. He held a knife in his hand.

"Felix…."

"It's time, Jack." His eyes are a glossy white.

Alyssa and Julian turn to me. Their eyes are the same color as Felix's.

It's an illusion, dammit. It's an illusion, just messing with your head. Just focus…

'Alyssa' roared, chucking a group of plates and pots at me. Damn porcelain. A wall of energy shimmers into existence, the plates shattering. 'Julian' charges at me with a Fist of Horus charged, throwing me back into the cabinet. Shards of wood piece my back, and I scream with pain as I hit the floor, my back arching with pain.

Fuck me, this illusion sucks.

A blast of wind magic throws 'Julian' across the room. The two Russians unleash gales of wind, turning the kitchen into a maelstrom of utensils and food items. I do a roll, taking cover behind the table, as the whole room shakes.

"Damnit Lu, this is too much! Stop!"

No response. Suddenly, Siyana laughs. It sounds nothing like her thick, hearty Russian. It sounds exactly like Lou's New Jersey accent. She's impersonating her in the illusion. Of course! If I take her out, it should disrupt the illusion long enough for me to defeat her in the real world.

Sounds like a plan.

I draw energy from Isis, and leap over the table. I aim two finger guns, yelling Ha-di at the top of my lungs. Explosions tear the dining are apart, sending 'Leonid' flying through a window, shattering it. Siyana-I mean Lous, is completely unaffected.

"Not bad, wannabe." I say, gritting my teeth. "But I got the true goddess of magic on speed dial." my anger-Isis' anger-resonates through me. Lou's eyes widen, as green fire sprays out of her hands, trying to roast me. I narrowly dodge it, respond white white-hot fire. Zia would be proud. Lou's good-very good.

But she had just pissed me off.

Show her my fury, my rage! Let me control-

"No! Last time you did that, you almost killed Percy!"

Pfft. You mean Aquaman? He-

I punch myself in the head.

Ow!

"Shut up." Well, that did it. I turn to Lou, who's on the back patio not, near the pool. She yells in Greek, summoning monsters to go after me. They kind of looked like harpies, except way more demonic than chicken. I blast one with fire, roasting it. I leap over the second one with a gust of wind magic, ha-diing it, turning it into dust. I turn back to Lou, summoning the wings of Isis. I fly over her, picking her up and throwing her in the pool.

"Your illusion was very good, Lou." I clap. "Well done. But...playtime is over."

Ribbons of magic wrap around her limbs, tying her up, lifting her up in front of me. She struggles against the bonds, trying to summon green fire. I rear my head back, headbutting her. The illusion disappears. I fall flat on my face into the dirt floor of the arena. Lou in on her hands and knees, groaning.

"That was some fine magic." She says, chuckling. "Looks like I'll have to go back to the drawing board." Her face is racked with a tint of disappointment. I get up, walking up to her. I offer a hand, helping her up.

"Hey." I looked into her eyes. "You did really well against me. And…" I blush. "I kind of do have a god in my head."

Goddess.

I shake my head at her constant butting in. "Anyway, you did amazing. Those illusions you pulled were incredibly realistic. Good job."

"Uh...thanks."

"And, if anyone else from your cabin wants to fight, let me know." I wink. We shake hands, then stroll out of our respective sides of the arena. The group of watching demigods clap.

"Always the nice guy, huh?"

A girl with blonde hair and jean shorts, with a t-shirt with BAG's cheer leading team insignia blazoned on it, with blonde hair and black eyes, winks at me.

"Jaz!" She runs over and kisses me right on the lips. The demigods stand around awkwardly.

"Hey hon." I finally said. "So...uh, how'd your thing go?"

"It was amazing! You should've seen us! We got to state...and lost. But we made it farther than our team had ever before! And we got fourth place!"

I hug her. "Great job, hon!" I smirk. "Did you use any magic?"

She blushed. "Maybe a little to gain an edge. Eye of Sekhmet, remember?" She taps her head. Yeah, having a girlfriend who's hosting a savage lion goddess...interesting combination.

"Wait, when did you get here, anyway?"

"Like 5 minutes ago. Used Sekhie (Jaz's nickname for Sekhmet) to turn myself into a vulture. Freaked out some satyrs, thought I was going to eat them. Ha!"

"Heh."

"Miss Anderson. I see you've become acquainted with the camp already."

She turns around. "Holy Horus!" She composes herself. "Sorry, never seen a centaur...up so close, anyway. Well, hi! I'm Jaz, Eye of Sekhmet. Healer, I suppose, is what'd you would call me."

Chiron nodded, shaking her hand. "Another Eye, I see." He chuckles. "This summer is going to be entertaining."

She chuckles. "Oh, you bet. So, where am I sleeping again?"

"Artemis Cabin." Jaz and I both grin at one another.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll show her around."

"Very well. I'll send an Apollo camper or two your way. Your gods are very similar, if I recall. Oh, and you'll get a schedule shortly. I'll announce you at campfire tonight! Have an excellent stay!" He trots away.

Jaz looks at him. "Nice guy."

"Oh yeah. He is. Apparently, he's like the only one of his kind who's actually competent. You should hear about the Party Ponies."

She raises an eyebrow. "Party Ponies?"

I chuckle. "C'mon. Let me show you Artemis Cabin."

"Wow! You weren't lying when you said this place looked nice! I love the inside!" I smiled as she gawked at the statue of Artemis and the animals. She grinned, throwing her bag on my bed.

"You mind us sharing one bed?"

I blush. "Uh, I would love to, I mean-"

She kisses me again. "I'd love to. Us alone…" She giggles. "It's no mansion, but it'll do."

"Hon, I'm not sure if Artemis will be ok with us-"

"We'll be fine, Jack. I'm sure she'll understand." She sniffs me. "Ra, you stink. There's dirt all over yourself."

She grins. "How long until your next class?"

"I'm supposed to do-"

"C'mon. I need a shower, too."

I laid in bed, under the covers, with Jaz snuggled into my body. We were both panting, and dripping wet from the shower. But hey, seize the moment, right?

"Wow. You were great." Jaz looked at me. "I can tell you missed me." She smiles, kissing me on the cheek.

"I did miss you. Now we get to spend a whole summer together."

"Mmmm." She rolled onto me, shifting her head from me shoulder to my chest "I'm going to enjoy this sleeping schedule."

I grin. "So will I. Let's just enjoy the moment for right now, yeah? We can talk more later." I felt Jaz's breathe heavily, and sighs.

"If someone had told me a year ago that I would have magical powers, a goddess in my head, an awesome magician boyfriend with super magical powers, and a whole mansion...I would've called you crazy. But now…" She wraps her arms around me, shaking her head. "Just another day, huh?"

"Just another day." I say. "And welcome to Camp Half-Blood, I guess. Ready for a tour soon?"

"You betcha."

Suddenly, a chorus of loud voice rushes by the cabin. Glad we kept the windowsills shut. It sounds serious.

"What's going on?" She asked. Her hands began to glow with magical energy. She's become very protective ever since joining with Sekhmet.

"Let's see, yeah?"

"Okay." We climb down to the bottom bunk. Ever since we've started to uh...you know, we've gotten used to each other being in a state of undress. She smiles silently mouthing later, and I kiss her again. We both throw on some clothes; Jaz puts on her CHB shirt for the first time. Fully dressed, we walk out of the cabin, tailing the crowd. The crowd stops at the front of the Big House.

Standing on its doorstep is a very odd-looking man. He's got shining blonde hair, and very ripped. He's in a toga with sandals, and has a fancy-looking bow strapped to his back.

"What the..by Ra, who is that?" Jaz asks a camper, but I already know.

"That's Apollo. Their god of the sun. Like Sekhmet, just not a lion, and less violent.

"Ah."

Jaz and I stayed a short distance away from Apollo, trying to blend in with the crowd. His visit seemed to be a surprise. The Apollo kids looked freaked as hell, and I couldn't really blame them. Having your dad pay a surprise visit isn't something some people look forward to.

"Hello, one and all! As you may know, yes, I am Apollo. Pleasure to meet you!" Jeez, this guy sounds pompous as hell.

"So! You may be wondering why I am here!" He scans the crowd, as if looking for something. "In lieu of the recent...interactions from your Roman friends after that nasty Gaea business. I, Apollo, shall be making an amazing orientation video for you guys, by me, Apollo!"

"So he came down here making' all this ruckus just to make an orientation video?" Jaz quietly asks a camper.

"I guess so. Dad's always wanting to make a big deal out of little things. At least he's not so much of a prick as Ares." One of the Apollo kids grunted angrily.

"But!" Apollo announces. "Speaking of visitors…" He pushes through the crowd of demigods until he reaches us, smirking.

Shit.

Up close, the guy is hot. No, not like that. He's actually radiating heat and light.

"Uh...hi. I see you've come to talk, I suppose? Maybe vaporize us for encroaching on your territory?" I giggle nervously as my sarcastic comments leave my mouth. The god just stares at me.

"Magicians. Huh. Haven't seen you guys in millenia."

"I...what?" I was caught off guard by his statement.

"Nevermind that. I'm just surprised you've made up so quickly." He leans closer to me. "I know who's really in charge in that little head of yours."

The fuck did that little bitch just say to us?

Ah, Isis. "I'm sorry, what was that?" My hands clenched into fists.

"Come now. Playing with fire, having so much power in your head. I imagine Hera would be jealous, not being able to have so much control over people like you." The smirk on this guy's face just screams 'Hey everyone, I'm an asshole!' He simply laughs again.

"How is Ra these days, anyway? Old man's been quiet recently."

"That old man helped us defeat Apophis. Watch your tone, buddy."

A collective ohhhhh! resonates from the crowd. His smile is replaced with a scow. "I don't-" He stops, clutching his chest, groaning. A green wave of energy flashes, pulsing the camp. All demigods collectively collapse, moaning with pain. Chiron and us seem unaffected.

"What?" Apollo gasps. "What is...what have you done?"

Jaz and I look at each other, surprised. She turns to the kneeling god. "We don't know what's going on!"

I decide to call in a little help. With Isis' help, I stare into the Duat. My eyes widen with surprise as I notice Apollo's godly aura begin to fade. He's not dying by any means-physically, at least. But whatever's happening to him-it's like someone's trying to wean his power. Draw it away from him. Like metal to a magnet.

Apollo's cries turn into ones of pain. The demigods, no matter their godly parent, seem to be affected by it, too. They're rolling around, gripping various parts of their body Their life auras seem to be affected like Apollo's-only not directly.

"Jack! Jasmine! What in the name of gods is going on?" Chiron seems virtually unaffected by this pulse, as are the satyrs and nymphs.

"We don't know!" We both shouted at the same time.

"Liars!" Apollo roars. "You'll pay for this!" He gets up, staggering, and pulls out a bow and arrow.

"He's gonna shoot!" Jaz says. As Apollo tries to fire it at us, I, in a flash, knock it out of his hands, hitting him with a blast of magic. He grits his teeth, growling.

"You will pay! I'll see to it myself!" He claps his hands, disappearing in a flash of light. Chiron is standing there, looking shocked. The pulse seems to intensify for another minute, before abruptly ceasing. All of the camps' demigods collectively collapse onto the ground. I look over at Jaz.

"Might want to put those healing skills to use now, hon."

The camp immediately descended into chaos after the 'Pulse'. Many campers suddenly fell ill, requiring basic medication and rest. Almost three-fourths of the camp had been sickened. The Hecate kids, oddly enough, seemed a bit more resistant to whatever the hell just hit camp. No one had died, mind you. Jazand I had been using our healing magic quite liberally, handing it out to anyone who needed it.

Chiron had been repeatedly trying to contact Olympus, to no avail. The campers who were okay enough couldn't contact their godly parents. Even worse, our friends back at Brooklyn House told us that the Empire State Building had been glowing green of all things. No one was able to tell what exact kind of magic it was, but whatever it was, Brooklyn House was going to keep an eye on it.

Naiads and dryads had been backing us up for hours, and things were still kinda chaotic. Morning had since turned into afternoon, and Chiron was seriously considering allowing more healers from our Nome to enter. Apollo was still entirely bedridden, and although Ares and Nike seemed to be doing okay, everyone else who was a demigod was still in bad shape.

"How are the campers doing?" Chiron trotted over to us; we had turned the Dining Pavilion into a makeshift care center. Campers were stretched all over the dining tables and floor, in various stages of recovery.

"Decent at best." Jaz said, casting a wave of hieroglyphics over the Hermes Cabin members. "We've got some people up and running, but at least half the camp is still...well, sick."

'What exactly do you mean by sick?" Chiron raised an eyebrow.

"It's...complicated." Jaz's Southern accent made it sounds like caamplicated. Hehe. "On close examination, there's no plagues or anything of the sort afflicting them. It's...almost like their connection to their godly parent is affecting them."

"So that's why you're not affected?"

"Right, horsey." Chiron raised his eyebrow again. Jaz chuckled. "I'm sorry."

"I'm going to as you two this once. Do you have any knowledge of who did this?"

We look at each other. "No. I sweat on Ra's name, I do not."

"Hmmm. Very well. But if anything changes-"

"It won't. Brooklyn House will find out who did this, and make them pay. I can promise you that."

He nods. "Go do your research. See what you can find."

Night came too quickly that day. And things hadn't gotten better.

Sure, more campers were up and about, but reports from Brooklyn House told us that the Empire State Building had been enclosed in some kind of green mist. The mortals saw it as an 'unscheduled maintenance project', but we knew better. Cleo couldn't find anything as to what this could be, and the magical barrier surrounding the camp seemed...weaker. Chiron was seriously considering calling in more magicians as backup. Nothing from Camp Jupiter, either.

Jaz and I had decided to take a break from healing magic, as most of Apollo cabin had been 'fixed'. We were patrolling the edges of the camp with some Ares kids, on the lookout for monsters.

"Man, I'd kill to get one of those combat avatars you guys can pull off." I grin.

"Well, it takes work, Sherman. Isn' being the son of the god of war enough?"

He shrugs. "You kicked a ton of ass in Capture the Flag, and made Clarisse look like mincemeat. Of course I'd like one of those things."

"You Blood of the Pharaohs?" I ask.

"Um, I don't think so. What does that mean?"

"You have to be related to one of the many Egpytian pharaohs. I'm related to Khufu. Jaz here is related to Sneferu."

He raises an eyebrow for a second. "So, the pharaohs are like your-ultra great grandparents?"

Jaz chuckles. "That's one way of saying it. Now-"

A spear sails through the air, nearly hitting Jaz in the head. It nearly splits a nearby tree in two, causing a group of dryads to rush over to the tree.

"Holy Horus! We got incoming!"

As soon as the words come out of my mouth, someone body slams into me, sending me to the floor.

"Get away from my kids, ya damn dirty magician!" I look up to see a very bulky man in a biker jacket, with sunglasses and glowing red eyes. He grinning, holding a sword in one hand, ready to stab me. The Ares kids seem shocked, it's almost as if they recognize him.

I scream, hitting him in the face with a ha-di. The strike breaks his focus, long enough for me to summon a staff and bonk him over the head with it.

"You got some fight in you, kid! I like that!"

"Ares, wait!" Someone yells. Sounds like….

Wait…

Ares?

Oh fuck.

"We've got incoming!" Jaz says. A group of people are walking out of the forest. One's in a suit with a huge beard; there's another covered in soot, scars, and had huge callossues on his hands. Another has...wings...and another woman is wearing silver armor...with grey eyes...is that fucking Athena?

Ares grabs me, and throws me into a tree. His nose is slightly bleeding. "Now you fucked up, son. Now my kids get to see how this god of war is gonna kick your puny Egpytian ass!"

"Fuck you, you psychopath!" I spit, throwing fire out of my hands drawing upon my elemental abilities. He groans, trying to bat away the flames.

"Ares, please stop!" The woman begins to rush up to him.

"No! I will have this victory for me!"

The winged woman smiles at those words. "Yes! A victory! I shall have this!" She charges towards me, eager to impale me.

"You want a piece of me, bitch?"

"Come on, magician!" She grins. "I've never killed one of you before! This will be glorious!"

Okay, this is getting out of hand. I close my eyes, and...nope, Jaz got it first. Her combat avatar forms around her, a giant lioness. She picks up the winged woman, throws her to the ground, and punches her, breaking her left arm. She turns to Biker Guy, and slashes him with her claws. Blood drips out of his chest, and he stumbles.

"Please! Stop this commotion at once!"

Chiron rushes into the fray, in battle-armor and with at least half of the camp behind him. When they see the group, they all immediately drop to their knees, whispering "Mother" and "Father".

"Would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?" I ask. Chiron responds immediately.

"I...I think these are the gods. They seem to be severely weakened, but…"

"Chiron." The bearded guy in the suit steps aside. "I'm glad to see you're all right. Is the camp fine?"

Chiron bows. At least...like a horse. "Yes, Lord Zeus, they are."

Jaz and I look at each other. Oh no. Zeus nods, before looking at us. "Why are they here?"

We both just gape.

"My lord, they are here to teach the demigods about them. It was about time, don't you think?" Chiron responds. Thanks, buddy.

"They are far too-"

"Hey." Zeus turns to me. 'Don't chew him out, big guy. If you got a problem with me, tell me. Don't chew him out. Chiron hasn't done anything wrong."

Zeus simply chuckles at me. "Can you believe this guy?" He looks to the other for a response. They just...kinda stare. He shakes his head. "We will figure this out later." He turns to the group of demigods. "Our powers are weakened. Our home has been captured. We have had no choice but to come here amongst our children for now."

"What does this mean?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"The gods of Olympus are staying at Camp Half-Blood."


End file.
